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THE LAYS 
OF ANCIENT ROME 



BY 

THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY 



EDITED WITH NOTES 
AND TEACHING QUESTIONS BY 

LEWIS WORTHINGTON SMITH 

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH 
DRAKE UNIVERSITY, DES MOINES 



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Copyright 1911 

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CONTENTS 

Introduction. . 5 

Horatius 15 

The Battle of the Lake Regillis 46 

Virginia 85 

The Prophecy of Capys 115 

Chronology 135 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Portrait c 4%/ 

Map of Ancient Rome 16 J 

Triumph of Titus 66 

The Roman Forum 97 * 





THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY 



LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 



INTRODUCTION 

That what is called the history of the kings and 
early consuls of Rome is to a great extent fabulous, 
few scholars have, since the time of Beaufort, ven- 
tured to deny. It is certain that, more than three 
hundred and sixty years after the date ordinarily 
assigned for the foundation of the city, the public 
records were, with scarcely an exception, destroyed by 
the Gauls. It is certain that the oldest annals of the 
commonwealth were compiled more than a century 
and a half after the destruction of the records. It is 
certain, therefore, that the great Latin writers of a 
later period did not possess those materials without 
which a trustworthy account of the infancy of the 
republic could not possibly be framed. They own, 
indeed, that the chronicles to which they had access 
were filled with battles that were never fought, and 
consuls that were never inaugurated; and we have 
abundant proof that, in those chronicles, events of the 
greatest importance, such as the issue of the war with 
Porsena, and the issue of the war with Brennus, were 
grossly misrepresented. Under these circumstances a 
wise man will look with great suspicion on the legend 
which has come down to us. He will, perhaps, be 



6 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

inclined to regard the princes who are said to have 
founded the civil and religious institutions of Rome, 
the son of Mars, and the husband of Egeria, as mere 
mythological personages, of the same class with Per- 
seus and Ixion. As he draws nearer and nearer to 
the confines of authentic history, he will become less 
and less hard of belief. He will admit that the most 
important parts of the narrative have some founda- 
tion in truth. But he will distrust almost all the de- 
tails, not only because they seldom rest on any solid 
evidence, but also because he will constantly detect in 
them, even when they are within the limits of physical 
possibility, that peculiar character, more easily under- 
stood than defined, which distinguishes the creations 
of the imagination from the realities of the world in 
which we live. 

The early history of Rome is, indeed, far more 
poetical than anything else in Latin literature. The 
loves of the Vestal and the God of War, the cradle 
laid among the reeds of Tiber, the fig-tree, the she- 
wolf, the shepherd's cabin, the recognition, the fratri- 
cide, the rape of the Sabines, the death of Tarpeia, 
the fall of Hostus Hostilius, the struggle of Mettus 
Curtius through the marsh, the women rushing with 
torn raiment and dishevelled hair between their fathers 
and their husbands, the nightly meetings of Numa and 
the Nymph by the well in the sacred grove, the fight of 
the three Romans and the three Albans, the purchase 
of the Sibylline books, the crime of Tullia, the simu- 
lated madness of Brutus, the ambiguous reply of the 
Delphian oracle to the Tarquins, the wrongs of 
Lucretia, the heroic actions of Horatius Codes, of 
Scaevola, and of Clcelia, the battle of Regillus won by 



INTRODUCTION 7 

the aid of Castor and Pollux, the defence of Cremera, 
the touching story of Coriolanus, the still more touch- 
ing story of Virginia, the wild legend about the drain- 
ing of the Alban lake, the combat between Valerius 
Corvus and the gigantic Gaul, are among the many 
instances which will at "once suggest themselves to 
every reader. 

The Latin literature which has come down to us 
is of later date than the commencement of the Second 
Punic War, and consists almost exclusively of words 
fashioned on Greek models. The Latin metres, heroic, 
elegiac, lyric, and dramatic, are of Greek origin. The 
best Latin epic poetry is the feeble echo of the Iliad 
and Odyssey. The best Latin eclogues are imitations 
of Theocritus. The plan of the most finished didactic 
poem in t^e Latin tongue was taken from Hesiod. 
The Latin tragedies are bad copies of the masterpieces 
of Sophocles and Euripides. The Latin comedies are 
free translations from Demophilus, Menander, and 
Apollodorus. The Latin philosophy was borrowed, 
without alteration, from the Portico and the Academy ; 
and the great Latin orators constantly proposed to 
themselves as patterns the speeches of Demosthenes 
and Lysias. 

But there was an earlier Latin literature, a litera- 
ture truly Latin, which has wholly perished, — which 
had, indeed, almost perished long before those whom 
we are in the habit of regarding as the greatest Latin 
writers were born. That literature abounded with 
metrical romances, such as are found in every country 
where there is much curiosity and intelligence, but 



8 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

little reading and writing. All human beings, not 
utterly savage, long for some information about past 
times, and are delighted by narratives which present 
pictures to the eye of the mind. But it is only in very 
enlightened communities that books are readily ac- 
cessible. Metrical composition, therefore, which, in a 
highly civilized nation is a mere luxury, is, in nations 
imperfectly civilized, almost a necessary of life, and 
is valued less on account of the pleasure which it 
gives to the ear than on account of the help which 
it gives to the memory. A man who can invent or 
embellish an interesting story, and put it into a form 
which others may easily retain in their recollection, 
will always be highly esteemed by a people eager for 
amusement and information, but destitute of libraries. 
Such is the origin of ballad-poetry, a species of com- 
position which scarcely ever fails to spring up and 
flourish in every society, at a certain point in the 
progress towards refinement. 



As it is agreeable to general experience that, at a 
certain stage in the progress of society, ballad-poetry 
should flourish, so is it also agreeable to general ex- 
perience that, at a subsequent stage in the progress of 
society, ballad-poetry should be undervalued and neg- 
lected. Knowledge advances; manners change; great 
foreign models of composition are studied and imi- 
tated. The phraseology of the old minstrels becomes 
obsolete. Their versification, which, having received 
its laws only from the ear, abounds in irregularities, 
seems licentious and uncouth. Their simplicity appears 
beggarly when compared with the quaint forms and 



INTRODUCTION 9 

gaudy coloring of such artists as Cowley and Gongora. 
The ancient lays, unjustly despised by the learned 
and polite, linger for a time in the memory of the 
vulgar, and are at length too often irretrievably lost. 
We cannot wonder that the ballads of Rome should 
have altogether disappeared, when we remember how 
very narrowly, in spite of the invention of printing, 
those of our own country and those of Spain escaped 
the same fate. There is, indeed, little doubt that 
oblivion covers many English songs equal to any that 
were published by Bishop Percy, and many Spanish 
songs as good as the best of those which have been so 
happily translated by Mr. Lockhart. Eighty years ago 
England possessed only one tattered copy of Childe 
Waters and Sir Cauline, and Spain only one tattered 
copy of the noble poem of the Cid. The snuff of a 
candle, or a mischievous dog, might in a moment have 
deprived the world forever of any of those fine com- 
positions. Sir Walter Scott, who united to the fire 
of a great poet the minute curiosity and patient dili- 
gence of a great antiquary, was but just in time to 
save the precious reliques of the Minstrelsy of the 
Border. In Germany, the lay of the Nibelungs had 
been long utterly forgotten, when, in the eighteenth 
century, it was for the first time printed from a manu- 
script in the old library of a noble family. In truth, 
the only people who, through their whole passage from 
simplicity to the highest civilization, never for a mo- 
ment ceased to love and admire their old ballads, were 
the Greeks. 

That the early Romans should have had ballad- 
poetry, and that this poetry should have perished, is, 
therefore, not strange. It would, on the contrary, 



10 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

have been strange if these things had not come to pass ; 
and we should be justified in pronouncing them highly 
probable, even if we had no direct evidence on the 
subject; but we have direct evidence of unquestionable 
authority. 

^ s}i ;Je ?J« j}c Jj? ^ 

The proposition, then, that Rome had ballad-poetry 
is not merely in itself highly probable, but is fully 
proved by direct evidence of the greatest weight. 

This proposition being established, it becomes easy 
to understand why the early history of the city is 
unlike almost everything else in Latin literature, — 
native where almost everything else is borrowed, im- 
aginative where almost everything else is prosaic. We 
can scarcely hesitate to pronounce that the magnificent, 
pathetic, and truly national legends, which present so 
striking a contrast to all that surrounds them, are 
broken and defaced fragments of that early poetry 
which, even in the age of Cato the Censor, had become 
antiquated, and of which Tully had never heard a line. 

That this poetry should have been suffered to perish 
will not appear strange when we consider how com- 
plete was the triumph of the Greek genius over the 
public mind of Italy. It is probable that at an early 
period Homer and Herodotus furnished some hints to 
the Latin minstrels ; but it was not until after the war 
with Pyrrhus that the poetry of Rome began to put 
off its old Ausonian character. The transformation 
was soon consummated. The conquered, says Horace, 
led captive the conquerors. It was precisely at the 
time at which the Roman people rose to unrivalled 
political ascendency that they stooped to pass under 
the intellectual yoke. It was precisely at the time 



INTRODUCTION 11 

at which the sceptre departed from Greece that the 
empire of her language and of her arts became uni- 
versal and despotic. The revolution, indeed, was not 
effected without a struggle. Naevius seems to have 
been the last of the ancient line of poets. Ennius was 
the founder of a new dynasty. Naevius celebrated the 
First Punic War in Saturnian verse, the old national 
verse of Italy. Ennius sang the Second Punic War 
in numbers borrowed from the Iliad. The elder poet, 
in the epitaph which he wrote for himself, and which 
is a fine specimen of the early Roman diction and 
versification, plaintively boasted that the Latin lan- 
guage had died with him. Thus, what to Horace ap- 
peared to be the first faint dawn of Roman literature, 
appeared to Naevius to be its hopeless setting. In 
truth, one literature was setting and another dawning. 
The victory of foreign taste was decisive; and in- 
deed we can hardly blame the Romans for turning 
away with contempt from the rude lays which had 
delighted their fathers, and giving their whole admira- 
tion to the immortal productions of Greece. The 
national romances, neglected by the great and the 
refined, whose education had been finished at Rhodes 
or Athens, continued, it may be supposed, during some 
generations, to delight the vulgar. While Virgil, in 
hexameters of exquisite modulation, described the 
sports of rustics, those rustics were still singing their 
wild Saturnian ballads. It is not improbable that, at 
the time when Cicero lamented the irreparable loss of 
the poems mentioned by Cato, a search among the 
nooks of the Apennines, as active as the search which 
Sir Walter Scott made among the descendants of the 
mosstroopers of Liddesdale, might have brought to 



12 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

light many fine remains of ancient minstrelsy. No 
such search was made. The Latin ballads perished 
forever. Yet discerning critics have thought that they 
could still perceive in the early history of Rome 
numerous fragments of this lost poetry, as the traveller 
on classic ground sometimes finds, built into the heavy 
wall of a fort or convent, a pillar rich with acanthus 
leaves, or a frieze where the Amazons and Bacchanals 
seem to live. The theatres and temples of the Greek 
and the Roman were degraded into the quarries of the 
Turk and the Goth. Even so did the ancient Saturnian 
poetry become the quarry in which a crowd of orators 
and annalists found the materials for their prose. 

It is not difficult to trace the process by which the 
old songs were transmuted into the form which they 
now wear. Funeral panegyric and chronicle appear 
to have been the intermediate links which connected 
the lost ballads with the histories now extant. From 
a very early period it was the usage that an oration 
should be pronounced over the remains of a noble 
Roman. The orator, as we learn from Polybius, was 
expected, on such an occasion, to recapitulate all the 
services which the ancestors of the deceased had, from 
the earliest time, rendered to the commonwealth. 
There can be little doubt that the speaker on whom 
this duty was imposed would make use of all the 
stories suited to his purpose which were to be found 
in the popular lays. There can be little doubt that 
the family of an eminent man would preserve a copy 
of the speech which had been pronounced over his 
corpse. The compilers of the early chronicles would 
have recourse to these speeches, and the great his- 



INTRODUCTION 13 

torians of a later period would have recourse to the 
chronicles. 

5JC 5jC 5jC 5|C <|C Jjv 5(C 

Such, or nearly such, appears to have been the 
process by which the lost ballad-poetry of Rome was 
transformed into history. To reverse that process, to 
transform some portions of early Roman history back 
into the poetry out of which they were made, is the 
object of this work. 

In the following poems the author speaks, not in 
his own person, but in the person of ancient minstrels 
who know only what a Roman citizen, born three or 
four years before the Christian era, may be supposed 
to have known, and who are in no wise above the 
passions and prejudices of their age and nation. To 
these imaginary poets must be ascribed some blunders, 
which are so obvious that it is unnecessary to point 
them out. The real blunder would have been to repre- 
sent these old poets as deeply versed in general his- 
tory, and studious of chronological accuracy. To them 
must also be attributed the illiberal sneers at the 
Greeks, the furious party spirit, the contempt for the 
arts of peace, the love of war for its own sake, the 
ungenerous exultation over the vanquished, which the 
reader will sometimes observe. To portray a Roman 
of the age of Camillus or Curius as superior to 
national antipathies, as mourning over the devastation 
and slaughter by which empire and triumphs were to 
be won, as looking On human suffering with the sym- 
pathy of Howard, or as treating conquered enemies 
with the delicacy of the Black Prince, would be to vio- 
late all dramatic propriety. The old Romans had 
some great virtues, — fortitude, temperance, veracity, 



14 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

spirit to resist oppression, respect for legitimate au- 
thority, fidelity in the observing of contracts, disin- 
terestedness, ardent patriotism; but Christian charity 
and chivalrous generosity were alike unknown to them. 
It would have been obviously improper to mimic the 
manner of any particular age or country. Something 
has been borrowed, however, from our own ballads, 
and more from Sir Walter Scott, the great restorer 
of our ballad-poetry. To the Iliad still greater obliga- 
tions are due; and those obligations have been con- 
tracted with the less hesitation because there is reason 
to believe that some of the old Latin minstrels really 
had recourse to that inexhaustible store of poetical 
images. 



HORATIUS 

There can be little doubt that among those parts of 
early Roman history which had a poetical origin was 
the legend of Horatius Codes. We have several ver- 
sions of the story, and these versions differ from each 
other in points of no small importance. Polybius, 
there is reason to believe, heard the tale recited over 
the remains of some consul or praetor descended from 
the old Horatian patricians ; for he introduces it as a 
specimen of the narratives with which the Romans 
were in the habit of embellishing their funeral oratory. 
It is remarkable that, according to him, Horatius de- 
fended the bridge alone, and perished in the waters. 
According to the chronicles which Livy and Dionysius 
followed, Horatius had two companions, swam safe 
to shore, and was loaded with honors and rewards. 

3JC 5jC ^}* 5jC 5jC 5jC 5jC 

It is by no means unlikely that there were two old 
Roman lays about the defence of the bridge ; and that, 
while the story which Livy has transmitted to us was 
preferred by the multitude, the other, which ascribed 
the whole glory to Horatius alone, may have been the 
favorite with the Horatian house. 

The following ballad is supposed to have been made 
about a hundred and twenty years after the war which 
it celebrates, and just before the taking of Rome by 
the Gauls. The author seems to have been an honest 

15 



L5 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

citizen proud of the military glory of his country, sick 
of the' disputes of factions, and much given to pining 
after good old times which had never really existed. 
The allusion, however, to the partial manner in whicn 
the public lands were allotted could proceed only from 
a plebeian- and the allusion to the fraudulent scale ol 
spoils marks the date of the poem, and shows that the 
poet shared in the general discontent with which the 
proceedings of Camillus, after the taking of Veil, 
were regarded. 



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HO RATI US 17 

HORATIUS 
A Lay Made About the Year of the City CCCLX. 



Lars Porsena of Clusium 

By the Nine Gods he swore 
That the great house of Tarquin 

Should suffer wrong no more. 
By the Nine Gods he swore it, 

And named a trysting day, 
And bade his messengers ride forth 
East and west and south and north, 

To summon his array. 



East and west and south and north xo 

The messengers ride fast, 
And tower and town and cottage 

Have heard the trumpet's blast. 
Shame on the false Etruscan 

Who lingers in his home, 
When Porsena of Clusium 

Is on the march for Rome. 

i Lars, a title meaning king or chieftain in the Etruscan. Clusium, 
in eastern middle portion of Etruria, west of Lake Trasimenus. 

5 According to the Roman tradition, the great gods of the Etrus- 
cans were nine in number. 
14 Etruscan. The Etruscans were the inhabitants of Etruria, a por- 
tion of Italy extending along the coast from near the mouth of 
the Tiber north to a point a little below modern Genoa. Now 
Tuscany. 



Define: trysting, array, house as used in line 3. 
Why should he be called a "false Etruscan" who did not go with 
Lars Porsena? 



18 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

3 
The horsemen and the footmen 

Are pouring in amain 
From many a stately market-place; 20 

From many a fruitful plain; 
From many a lonely hamlet, 

Which, hid by beech and pine, 
Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest 

Of purple Apennine; 



From lordly Volaterrse, 

Where scowls the far-famed hold 
Piled by the hands of giants 

For godlike kings of old; 
From seagirt Populonia, 3° 

Whose sentinels descry 
Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops 

Fringing the southern sky ; 



From the proud mart of Pisae, 

Queen of the western waves, 
Where ride Massilia's triremes 

Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; 

26 Volaterrae, a city north and west r>f Clusium in Etruria. 

34 Pisae, the modern Pisa. 

36 Massilia, now Marseilles, formerly a Greek colony. The slaves 

of her triremes were probably Gauls traded in by Greek 

merchants. 



Define: amain, mart, hamlet, hold, seagirt, descry, triremes. 
Why should the poet call the Apennines purple? 
Why did they think that the hold was "piled by hands of giants 
for god-like kings of old"? 



HORATIUS 19 

From where sweet Clanis wanders 

Through corn and vines and flowers; 
From where Cortona lifts to heaven 4o 

Her diadem of towers. 



Tall are the oaks whose acorns 

Drop in dark Auser's rill ; 
Fat are the stags that champ the boughs 

Of the Ciminian hill; 
Beyond all streams Clitumnus 

Is to the herdsman dear; 
Best of all pools the fowler loves 

The great Volsinian mere. 



But now no stroke of woodman so 

Is heard by Auser's rill ; 
No hunter tracks the stag's green path 

Up the Ciminian hill; 
Unwatched along Clitumnus 

Grazes the milk-white steer; 
Unharmed the waterfowl may dip 

In the Volsinian mere. 

38 Clanis, a river flowing east of Clusium south into the Tiber. 

40 Cortona, a little distance from Clusium, northwest of Lake 

Trasimenus. 
43 Auser, a stream flowing into the Arno. 



Define: diadem, champ, fowler, mere, rill. 

Does the sixth stanza make the life in Etruria seem a happy one 
or not? Why should the Etruscans think of this as they march away 
to Rome? 

Why does the milk-white steer graze unwatched along Clitumnus 
and the waterfowl dip unharmed in the mere? 



20 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

8 

The harvests of Arretium, 

This year, old men shall reap, 
This year, young boys in Umbro 6o 

Shall plunge the struggling sheep ; 
And in the vats of Luna, 

This year, the must shall foam 
Round the white feet of laughing girls 

Whose sires have marched to Rome. 



There be thirty chosen prophets, 

The wisest of the land, 
Who al way by Lars Porsena 

Both morn and evening stand : 
Evening and morn the Thirty ?° 

Have turned the verses o'er, 
Traced from the right on linen white 

By mighty seers of yore. 



58 Arretium, north of Cortona, now Arezzo. 

60 Umbro, now the Ombrone, a river flowing into the sea north of 

Rome less than a hundred miles. 
62 Luna, a city in the north of Etruria on the sea. 
64 Round the white feet of laughing girls, who are treading out the 

wine from the grapes. 
66 Prophets. They were rather sorcerers who read signs of the future 

in the entrails of animals and otherwise. 
72 The Etruscans read from right to left instead of from left to 

right as we do. 



Define: must, seers, yore. 

Why shall the old men reap the harvests or Arretium and the young 
boys plunge the sheep in Umbro? 

Why does the poet think of the girls as laughing when their sires 
have marched to Rome? 



HORATIUS 21 



10 



And with one voice the Thirty- 
Have their glad answer given: 

"Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena; 
Go forth, beloved of Heaven : 

Go, and return in glory 
To Clusium's royal dome; 

And hang round Nurscia's altars 8o 

The golden shields of Rome." 

ii 

And now hath every city 

Sent up her tale of men : 
The foot are fourscore thousand, 

The horse are thousands ten. 
Before the gates of Sutrium 

Is met the great array. 
A proud man was Lars Porsena 

Upon the trysting day. 

12 

For all the Etruscan armies *° 

Were ranged beneath his eye, 
And many a banished Roman, 

And many a stout ally; 
And with a mighty following 

To join the muster came 

80 Nurscia's altars. This wa3 a Sabine city near the Nar. 
86 Sutrium, a town north of Rome on the road from Clusium. 



Define: dome, tale, ranged, banished, ally, muster. 

Why was Lars Porsena a proud man on the trysting day? 



22 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

The Tusculan Mamilius, 
Prince of the Latian name. 

13 

But by the yellow Tiber 

Was tumult and affright ; 
From all the spacious champaign 10 ° 

To Rome men took their flight. 
A mile around the city, 

The throng stopped up the ways ; 
A fearful sight it was to see 

Through two long nights and days. 

14 
For aged folks on crutches, 

And women great with child, 
And mothers sobbing over babes 

That clung to them and smiled, 
And sick men borne in litters IIQ 

High on the necks of slaves, 
And troops of sunburnt husbandmen 

With reaping-hooks and staves. 

15 

And droves of mules and asses 
Laden with skins of wine, 

96 Tusculan, a resident of Tusculum, a city of Latium, that part of 
Italy in which Rome was situated. 



Define: affright, tumult, throng, champaign, spacious, litters, reap- 
ing-hooks, staves, skins of wine, kine. 

Why does the poet tell of the smiling babes at the same time that 
he tells of the sobbing mothers? 

Where has the poet changed point of view in telling the story? 
Whom are we interested in now? 



HORATIUS 23 

And endless flocks of goats and sheep, 

And endless herds of kine, 
And endless trains of wagons 

That creaked beneath the weight 
Of corn-sacks and of household goods, I20 

Choked every roaring gate. 

16 

Now, from the rock Tarpeian, 

Could the wan burghers spy 
The line of blazing villages 

Red in the midnight sky. 
The Fathers of the City, 

They sat all night and day, 
For every hour some horseman came 

With tidings of dismay. 

17 

To eastward and to westward l ^° 

Have spread the Tuscan bands ; 
Nor house nor fence nor dovecote 

In Crustumerium stands. 
Verbenna down to Ostia 

Hath wasted all the plain; 

122 Tarpeian. The Tarpeian Rock was a cliff on one of the hills of 

Rome, famous in an old story of the betrayal of the city. 
126 Fathers of the City. The Senators of Rome. 

133 Crustumerium, a city between fifteen and twenty miles above Rome 

near the Tiber. 

134 Ostia, was the port of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber. 



What are burghers? Is the term Roman or more modern? 
Why was every gate a "roaring gate"? 

Why does the poet speak of house and fence and dovecote in that 
order? 



24 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 
And the stout guards are slain. 

18 

Iwis, in all the Senate, 

There was no heart so bold, 
But sore it ached, and fast it beat, l *° 

When that ill news was told. 
Forthwith up rose the Consul, 

Up rose the Fathers all ; 
In haste they girded up their gowns, 

And hied them to the wall. 

19 
They held a council standing 

Before the River-Gate; 
Short time was there, ye well may guess, 

For musing or debate. 
Out spake the Consul roundly: f 5° 

"The bridge must straight go down; 
For, since Janiculum is lost, 

Naught else can save the town." 

20 

Just then a scout came flying, 
All wild with haste and fear; 

136 Janiculum. The hill Janiculus across the river from the main part 

of the city. Important as overlooking Rome. 
138 Iwis. Has the sense of certainly, surely. 



Define: girded, hied, council, Consul, stormed, roundly. 

Why do the Fathers hold a. council before the River-Gate? 

What does the scout's way of announcing the coming of Lars Por- 
scna show of the Roman feeling for him? 

Does the scout's message make the Consul excited or thoughtful? 
How is that or is it not like a Roman? 



HORATIUS 25 



'To arms! to arms! Sir Consul: 

Lars Porsena is here." 
On the low hills to westward 

The Consul fixed his eye, 
And saw the swarthy storm of dust 

Rise fast along the sky. 



1 60 



21 

And nearer fast and nearer 

Doth the red whirlwind come ; 
And louder still and still more loud, 
From underneath that rolling cloud, 
Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud, 

The trampling, and the hum. 
And plainly and more plainly 

Now through the gloom appears, 
Far to left and far to right, J 7° 

In broken gleams of dark-blue light, 
The long array of helmets bright, 

The long array of spears. 

22 

And plainly, and more plainly 

Above that glimmering line, 
Now might ye see the banners 

Of twelve fair cities shine; 

177 Twelve fair cities. The Etruscans developed a civil life and the 
arts somewhat in advance of the Romans, and they formed a 
league of twelve cities with a spirit of organization such as 
their future conquerors had not yet. 



Define: swarthy, glimmering, proud. 

Why does the poet call the coming army a red whirlwind? 



26 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

But the banner of proud Clusium 

Was highest of them all, 
The terror of the Umbrian, l8 ° 

The terror of the Gaul. 

23 

And plainly and more plainly 

Now might the burghers know, 
By port and vest, by horse and crest, 

Each warlike Lucumo. 
There Cilnius of Arretium 

On his fleet roan was seen ; 
And Astur of the fourfold shield, 
Girt with the brand none else may wield, 
Tolumnius with the belt of gold. x 9° 

And dark Verbenna from the hold 

By reedy Thrasymene. 

24 

Fast by the royal standard, 

O'erlooking all the war, 
Lars Porsena of Clusium 

Sat in his ivory car. 
By the right wheel rode Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name; 

184 Port and vest. Manner of carrying himself and dress (vesture). 

185 Lucumo. A Roman term for the Etruscan chiefs. 

197 Mamilius. Clavius Mamilius of Tusculum was of the exiled fam- 
ily, having married a daughter of Tarquinius. 



Why was the banner of Clusium the terror of the Umbrian and the 
Gaul? 

Give the meaning as used here of crest, roan, brand, wield, stan- 
dard, car. 



HORATWS 27 



200 



And by the left false Sextus, 
That wrought the deed of shame, 

25 

But when the face of Sextus 

Was seen among the foes, 
A yell that rent the firmament 

From all the town arose. 
On the house-tops was no woman 

But spat towards him and hissed, 
No child but screamed out curses, 

And shook its little fist. 



26 

But the Consul's brow was sad, 

And the Consul's speech was low, 210 

And darkly looked he at the wall, 

And darkly at the foe. 
"Their van will be upon us 

Before the bridge goes down; 
And if they once may win the bridge, 

What hope to save the town? 



27 

Then out spake brave Horatius, 
The Captain of the Gate; 

199 Sextus. He was a son of Tarquinius, and the expulsion of the 
Tarquins was largely due to his wrongdoing. 



Define: firmament, spat, curses, van. 

How does it happen that even the children scream out curses? 
Why is the Consul's feeling different from that of the people? 
What is he thinking of? 



28 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

"To every man upon this earth 

Death cometh soon or late 220 

And how can man die better 

Than facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of his fathers, 

And the temples of his gods. 

28 

"And for the tender mother 

Who dandled him to rest, 
And for the wife who nurses 

His baby at her breast, 
And for the holy maidens 

Who feed the eternal flame, 2 *° 

To save them from false Sextus 

That wrought the deed of shame? 

29 

"Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may ; 
I, with two more to help me, 

Will hold the foe in play. 
In yon strait path a thousand 

May well be stopped by three. 
Now who will stand on either hand, 

And keep the bridge with me ?" 24 ° 

229 The holy maidens were the vestal virgins, whose duty it was to 
keep a flame burning on the altar of the goddess Vesta. 



What is there fine about the first part of the speech of Horatius? 
What is the meaning as used here of wrought, play, strait, either? 
Are the others who will help Horatius prompt or not? 



HORATWS 29 

30 

Then out spake Spurius Lartius; 

A Ramnian proud was he: 
"Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 
And out spake strong Herminius; 

Of Titian blood was he : 
"I will abide on thy left side, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 

31 

"Horatius," quoth the Consul, 

"As thou sayest, so let it be." 25 ° 

And straight against that great array 

Forth went the dauntless Three. 
For Romans in Rome's quarrel 

Spared neither land nor gold, 
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 

In the brave days of old. 

32 
Then none was for a party; 

Then all were for the state ; 
Then the great man helped the poor, 

And the poor man loved the great ; 26 ° 

Then lands were fairly portioned; 

Then spoils were fairly sold ; 

242 Ramnian. The Roman patrician or noble class comprised three 
tribes, of which the Ramnes or Romans were the first. Later 
the union with the Sabines added another, the Tities. See 
line 246. The conquest of Alba added the fourth, the Luceres. 



Define: abide, dauntless, portioned, spoils. 

Do they who will help Horatius seem determined or doubtful? Do 
they seem men of words or of deeds? 



30 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

The Romans were like brothers 
In the brave days of old. 

33 
Now Roman is to Roman 

More hateful than a foe, 
And the Tribunes beard the high, 

And the Fathers grind the low. 
As we wax hot in faction, 

In battle we wax cold : 27 ° 

Wherefore men fight not as they fought 

In the brave days of old. 

34 
Now while the Three were tightening 

Their harness on their backs, 
The Consul was the foremost man 

To take in hand an axe : 
And Fathers mixed with Commons 

Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
And smote upon the planks above, 

And loosed the props below. 28 ° 

267 The Tribunes were officers of the common people or plebeians 
whose first office was that of protecting any of the plebeians 
who might appeal to them for protection against the authority 
of the Consul. Later they had also the power of vetoing laws 
that they thought would be injurious to the common people. 



Define: foe, beard, faction, harness, smote, props. 

How does the man who is telling the story seem to feel about 
"the brave days of old"? Why does he use the phrase so often? 

What is it for the Tribunes to "beard the high," and for the 
"fathers to grind the low"? 

What is it to "wax hot in faction"? 

Why does the poet speak of Fathers as mixing with Commons? 
Was the term Commons one properly to be applied to a Roman or an 
English body of men? 



HORATIUS 31 

35 

Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 

Right glorious to behold, 
Came flashing back the noonday light, 
Rank behind rank, like surges bright 

Of a broad sea of gold. 
Four hundred trumpets sounded 

A peal of warlike glee, 
As that great host, with measured tread, 
And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, 
Rolled slowly towards the bridge's head, 29 ° 

Where stood the dauntless Three. 

36 

The Three stood calm and silent, 

And looked upon the foes, 
And a great shout of laughter, 

From all the vanguard rose ; 
And forth three chiefs came spurring 

Before that deep array ; 
To earth they sprang, their swords they drew, 
And lifted high their shields, and flew 

To win the narrow way. 300 

37 

Aunus from green Tifernum, 
Lord of the Hill of Vines ; 

301 Tifernum, a city in the northeastern part of Etruria. 



Define: surges, ensign, vanguard, array. 

Does the description of the Tuscan army in the thirty-fifth stanza 
seem that of an orderly modern army or of a wild host? 

Why did a great shout of laughter rise from the vanguard at 
the Three? 



32 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves 

Sicken in Ilva's mines ; 
And Picus, long to Clusium 

Vassal in peace and war, 
Who led to fight his Umbrian powers 
From that gray crag where, girt with towers, 
The fortress of Nequinum lowers 

O'er the pale waves of Nar. * J0 

38 

Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 

Into the stream beneath : 
Herminius struck at Seius, 

And clove him to the teeth : 
At Picus brave Horatius 

Darted one fiery thrust ; 
And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms 

Clashed in the bloody dust. 

39 

Then Ocnus of Falerii 

Rushed on the Roman Three; 32 ° 

And Lausulus of Urgo, 

The rover of the sea ; 

304 Ilva, an island off the west coast, the modern Elba. 

310 Nar, a river on the southern border of Umbria flowing into the 

Tiber from the east. Umbria is east of Etruria. 
322 The Etruscans, while they were merchantmen, also sailed the 

sea as pirates. 



Define as used here: vassal, powers, girt, fortress, lowers, clove, 
crag, fiery, gilded, rover. 

Does the poet make you feel that Seius and Picus are kindly 
or terrible chieftains? Does stanza thirty-seven make you more or 
less anxious for the Romans? 



HORATIUS 33 

And Aruns of Volsinium, 

Who slew the great wild boar, 
The great wild boar that had his den 
Amidst the reeds of Cosa's fen, 
And wasted fields, and slaughtered men, 

Along Albinia's shore. 

40 

Herminius smote down Aruns; 

Lartius laid Ocnus low ; 330 

Right to the heart of Lausulus 

Horatius sent a blow. 
"Lie there," he cried, "fell pirate! 

No more, aghast and pale, 
From Ostia's walls the crowd shall mark 
The track of thy destroying bark. 
No more Campania's hinds shall fly 
To w r oods and caverns when they spy 

Thy thrice accursed sail." 

4i 

But now no sound of laughter 340 

Was heard among the foes. 
A wild and wrathful clamor 

From all the vanguard rose. 
Six spears' lengths from the entrance 

Halted that deep array, 

Define: fell, pirate, aghast, bark, hinds, cavern, clamor. 

Do the new Etruscans seem more or less terrible than the pre- 
ceding Three? Why? 

In stanza forty is Horatius more or less determined than before? 
Do you see any new feeling that makes him so? 

Why now does "a wild and wrathful clamor" rise from the van- 
guard of the foes? 



34 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And for a space no man came forth 
To win the narrow way. 

42 

But hark! the cry is Astur: 

And lo ! the ranks divide ; 
And the great Lord of Luna 350 

Comes with his stately stride. 
Upon his ample shoulders 

Clangs loud the fourfold shield, 
And in his hand he shakes the brand 

Which none but he can wield. 

43 

He smiled on those bold Romans 

A smile serene and high ; 
He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 

And scorn was in his eye. 
Quoth he, "The she- wolf's litter 360 

Stand savagely at bay : 
But will ye dare to follow, 

If Astur clears the way?" 

44 

Then, whirling up his broadsword 
With both hands to the height, 

360 The she-wolfs litter. According to the old story the founders 
of Rome, Romulus and Renus, were nourished by a wolf. 



Define: stride, brand, wield, serene, flinching, deftly. 
Does there appear to be new and greater danger for the Romans 
in the coming of Astur or not? Why? 

Does he in any way seem nobler than the other Etruscans? 



HORATIUS 35 

He rushed against Horatius, 

And smote with all his might. 
With shield and blade Horatius 

Right deftly turned the blow. 
The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh ; * 7 ° 

It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh : 
The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 

To see the red blood flow. 

45 
He reeled, and on Herminius 

He leaned one breathing-space; 
Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds, 

Sprang right at Astur's face. 
Through teeth, and skull, and helmet, 

So fierce a thrust he sped, 
The good sword stood a handbreadth out 38 ° 

Behind the Tuscan's head. 

4 6 

And the great Lord of Luna 

Fell at that deadly stroke, 
As falls on Mount Alvernus 

A thunder-smitten oak. 
Far o'er the crashing forest 

The giant arms lie spread ; 

368 Augurs, priests whose office it was to foretell events from signs 
of various sorts. 



Define: helm, thrust, reeled, helmet. 

Does Horatius meet Astur in a way at all different from that in 
which he met the others? 

Are the augurs pale for the falling of the oak or for the falling 
of Astur? 

Why does the poet compare Astur to an oak? 



36 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And the pale augurs, muttering low, 
Gaze on the blasted head. 

47 
On Astur's throat Horatius &° 

Right firmly pressed his heel, 
And thrice and four times tugged amain, 

Ere he wrenched out the steel. 
"And see," he cried, "the welcome, 

Fair guests, that waits you here ! 
What noble Lucumo comes next 

To taste our Roman cheer?" 

4 s 

But at his haughty challenge 

A sullen murmur ran, 
Mingled of wrath and shame and dread, 4°° 

Along that glittering van. 
There lacked not men of prowess, 

Nor men of lordly race; 
For all Etruria's noblest 

Were round the fatal place. 

49 

But all Etruria's noblest 

Felt their hearts sink to see 
On the earth the bloody corpses, 

In the path the dauntless Three; 
And, from the ghastly entrance « 10 

Where those bold Romans stood, 

Define: tugged, haughty, challenge, dread, prowess, noblest, fatal, 
corpses, dauntless, ghastly. 

How confident does Horatius feel in the forty-seventh stanza? 
Why does the poet speak of the van as glittering? 



HORATIUS 37 

All shrank, like boys who unaware, 
Ranging the woods to start a hare, 
Come to the mouth of the dark lair 
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 
Lies amidst bones and blood. 

50 

Was none who would be foremost 

To lead such dire attack : 
But those behind cried "Forward!" 

And those before cried "Back !" * 20 

And backward now and forward 

Wavers the deep array; 
And on the tossing sea of steel, 
To and fro the standards reel; 
And the victorious trumpet-peal 

Dies fitfully away. 

51 

Yet one man for one moment 

Stood out before the crowd; 
Well known was he to all the Three, 

And they gave him greeting loud, 430 

"Now welcome, welcome, Sextus! 

Now welcome to thy home ! 
Why dost thou stay, and turn away? 

Here lies the road to Rome." 

Define: unaware, hare, lair, dire, reel, trumpet-peal. 

How does the fiftieth stanza show that the soldiers of the Etrus- 
can army fought under orders from the commander or by its own 
impulses? Why does the poet now speak of the Etruscan army as a 
sea of steel when he spoke of it in stanza thirty-five as a sea of 
gold? 

Why do the Three shout out with so loud a greeting to Sextus? 



38 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

52 

Thrice looked he at the city; 

Thrice looked he at the dead; 
And thrice came on in fury, 

And thrice turned back in dread; 
And, white with fear and hatred, 

Scowled at the narrow way 44 ° 

Where, wallowing in a pool of blood, 

The bravest Tuscans lay. 

S3 
But meanwhile axe and lever 

Have manfully been plied; 
And now the bridge hangs tottering 

Above the boiling tide. 
"Come back, come back, Horatius ! 

Loud cried the Fathers all. 
"Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius ! 

Back, ere the ruin fall I" 450 

54 
Back darted Spurius Lartius; 

Herminius darted back; 
And, as they passed, beneath their feet 

They felt the timbers crack. 
But when they turned their faces, 

And on the farther shore 

Define: fury, hatred, scowled, wallowing, lever, plied, tottering, 
tide, boiling, ruin. 

Is there any change to be noticed in the relative fears of the 
Romans and the Etruscans since word first reached Rome that the 
host of Lars Porsena was coming? 

Does the taunting of the Roman Three seem mean or not? 
Why so ? 

Is the use of the word tide in line 446 strictly accurate or not? 



HO RATI US 39 



Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 
They would have crossed once more. 



55 



But with a crash like thunder 

Fell every loosened beam, 460 

And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 

Lay right athwart the stream ; 
And a long shout of triumph 

Rose from the walls of Rome, 
As to the highest turret-tops 

Was splashed the yellow foam. 



56 



And, like a horse unbroken 

When first he feels the rein, 
The furious river struggled hard, 

And tossed his tawny mane, 470 

And burst the curb, and bounded, 

Rejoicing to be free, 
And whirling down, in fierce career 
Battlement, and ptank, and pier, 

Rushed headlong to the sea. 



Define: athwart, triumph, turret-tops, splashed, struggled, tawny, 
curb, career, pier. 

What does the furious river struggle against in line 469? 

The river is here personified, spoken of as if it were living. Can 
you see why the poet does that or why the people might think of 
it so? 

What is the curb that the river bursts, and why should it seem 
to rejoice in being free? 



40 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

57 
Alone stood brave Horatius, 

But constant still in mind; 
Thrice thirty thousand foes before, 

And the broad flood behind. 
"Down with him!" cried false Sextus, 48 ° 

With a smile on his pale face. 
"Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena, 

"Now yield thee to our grace." 

58 

Round turned he, as not deigning 

Those craven ranks to see; 
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, 

To Sextus naught spake he ; 
But he saw on Palatinus 

The white porch of his home ; 
And he spake to the noble river 490 

That rolls by the towers of Rome. 

59 
"O Tiber! father Tiber! 
To whom the Romans pray, 

488 Palatinus, now the Palatine hill. # 



Define as used here: yield, grace, craven, deigning, naught. 

Why does Horatius remain after the bridge begins to fall? 

How does the poet think of Horatius as being "constant still in 
mind"? 

Why is Sextus anxious to have him killed now? 

How does it happen that Lars Porsena has a different spirit? 

How has the poet made us feel toward Lars Porsena from the be- 
ginning of the story? 

How do stanzas fifty-eight and fifty-nine make you feel about the 
motive that Horatius has had for defending the bridge? Has it been 
love of battle or love of Rome? 



HORATIUS 41 

A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 

Take thou in charge this day !" 
So he spake, and speaking sheathed 

The good sword by his side, 
And with his harness on his back 

Plunged headlong in the tide. 

60 

No sound of joy or sorrow 500 

Was heard from either bank ; 
But friends and foes in dumb surprise, 
With parted lips and straining eyes, 

Stood gazing where he sank; 
And when above the surges 

They saw his crest appear, 
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
And even the ranks of Tuscany 

Could scarce forbear to cheer. 

61 

But fiercely ran the current, $ 10 

Swollen high by months of rain: 
And fast his blood was flowing, 

And he was sore in pain, 
And heavy with his armor, 

And spent with changing blows: 
And oft they thought him sinking, 

But still again he rose. 

Define: crest, rapturous, sore, spent. 

Do you think that either Porsena or Sextus was among those 
who cheered? W T hy? 

How would the story have lost in interest, if Horatius had gone 
back safely across the bridge with the other two? 



42 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

62 

Never, I ween, did swimmer, 

In such an evil case, 
Struggle through such a raging flood 520 

Safe to the landing-place : 
But his limbs were borne up bravely 

By the brave heart within, 
And our good father Tiber 

Bore bravely up his chin. 

63 

"Curse on him !" quoth false Sextus ; • 

"Will not the villain drown ? 
But for this stay, ere close of day 

We should have sacked the town!" 
"Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena, m° 

"And bring him safe to shore; 
For such a gallant feat of arms 

Was never seen before." 

64 

And now he feels the bottom; 

Now on dry earth he stands ; 
Now round him throng the Fathers 

To press his gory hands; 
And now, with shouts and clapping, 

And noise of weeping loud, 

Define: ween, sacked, gory. 

How does the difference in feeling between Sextus and Porsena 
help our appreciation of Horatius or not? 

Why do you think there was weeping after he had saved the 
bridge and had swum safely back? 

Where does the real story stop? Why does the author plunge so 
abruptly into the account of the consequences without telling about 
the outcome of the attack on Rome? 



HORATIUS 43 

He enters through the River-Gate, 540 

Borne by the joyous crowd. 

65 

They gave him of the corn-land, 

That was of public right, 
As much as two strong oxen 

Could plough from morn till night; 
And they made a molten image, 

And set it up on high, 
And there it stands unto this day 

To witness if I lie. 

66 

It stands in the Comitium, 550 

Plain for all folk to see ; 
Horatius in his harness, 

Halting upon one knee: 
And underneath is written, 

In letters all of gold, 
How valiantly he kept the bridge 

In the brave days of old. 

67 

And still his name sounds stirring 



Unto the men of Rome, 



542 The corn land. There were many dissensions in the course of 
Roman history over the occupation of the public lands which 
were not distributed to private owners. The patricians claimed 
this right alone, and the plebeians secured a share in the land 
with difficulty. 

550 Comitium, the assembling place of the people in the forum. It 
contained the tribunal and the rostra from which latter the 
people were addressed. 



Do you think that Porsena and the Etruscans succeeded in get- 
ting into the city or not? 



44 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 5 6 ° 

To charge the Volscian home ; 
And wives still pray to Juno 

For boys with hearts as bold 
As his who kept the bridge so well 

In the brave days of old. 

68 

And in the nights of winter, 

When the cold north-winds blow, 
And the long howling of the wolves 

Is heard amidst the snow ; 
When round the lonely cottage . 57 ° 

Roars loud the tempest's din, 
And the good logs of Algidus 

Roar louder yet within; 

6 9 

When the oldest cask is opened, 

And the largest lamp is lit; 
When the chestnuts glow in the embers, 

And the kid turns on the spit ; 
When young and old in circle 

Around the firebrands close; 
When the girls are weaving baskets, s8 ° 

And the lads are shaping bows ; 

561 Volscians. They were a people living directly south of Latium, 
572 Algidus, a mountain near Rome. 



Define: amidst, din, glow, kid, spit. 

Do these last stanzas bring up a picture of an early or a late 
civilization ? 

What in this life appeals to the man who tells the story? Why 
is he fond of "the brave days of old"? 

How is Horatius a typical Roman of the old days or not? 



HORATIUS 45 



70 

When the goodman mends his armor, 

And trims his helmet's plume ; 
When the goodwife's shuttle merrily 

Goes flashing through the loom, — 
With weeping and with laughter 

Still is the story told, 
How well Horatius kept the bridge 

In the brave days of old. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 

The following poem is supposed to have been pro- 
duced ninety years after the lay of Horatius. Some 
persons mentioned in the lay of Horatius make their 
appearance again, and some appellations and epithets 
used in the lay of Horatius have been purposely re- 
peated; for, in an age of ballad-poetry, it scarcely 
ever fails to happen, that certain phrases come to be 
appropriated to certain men and things, and are regu- 
larly applied to those men and things by every min- 
strel. ... In our own national songs, Douglas is 
almost always the doughty Douglas ; England is merry 
England ; all the gold is red ; and all the ladies are gay. 

The principal distinction between the lay of Hora- 
tius and the lay of the Lake Regillus is, that the 
former is meant to be purely Roman, while the latter, 
though national in its general spirit, has a slight tinc- 
ture of Greek learning and of Greek superstition. The 
story of the Tarquins, as it has come down to us, 
appears to have been compiled from the works of 
several popular poets ; and one at least of those poets 
appears to have visited the Greek colonies in Italy, if 
not Greece itself, and to have had some acquaintance 
with the works of Homer and Herodotus. Many of 
the most striking adventures of the house of Tarquin, 
before Lucretia makes her appearance, have a Greek 
character. . . . The Battle of the Lake Regillus 
is in all respects a Homeric battle, except that the 
combatants ride astride on their horses, instead of 

46 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 47 

driving chariots. The mass of fighting men is hardly 
mentioned. The leaders single each other out, and 
engage hand to hand. The great object of the war- 
riors on both sides is, as in the Iliad, to obtain posses- 
sion of the spoils and bodies of the slain ; and several 
circumstances are related which forcibly remind us of 
the great slaughter round the corpses of Sarpedon and 
Patroclus. 

Jfc 5fl JjC JJC 5-i Jjl Jfl 

In the following poem, therefore, images and inci- 
dents have been borrowed, not merely without scruple, 
but on principle, from the incomparable battle-pieces 
of Homer. 

The popular belief at Rome, from an early period, 
seems to have been that the event of the great day of 
Regillus was decided by supernatural agency. Castor 
and Pollux, it was said, had fought, armed and 
mounted, at the head of the legions of the common- 
wealth, and had afterwards carried the news of the 
victory with incredible speed to the city. The well in 
the Forum at which they had alighted was pointed 
out. Near the well rose their ancient temple. A great 
festival was kept to their honor on the ides of Quin- 
tilis, supposed to be the anniversary of the battle ; and 
on that day sumptuous sacrifices were offered to them 
at the public charge. One spot on the margin of Lake 
Regillus was regarded during many ages with super- 
stitious awe. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's 
hoof, was discernible in the volcanic rock; and this 
mark was believed to have been made by one of the 
celestial chargers. 

How the legend originated cannot now be ascer- 
tained ; but we may easily imagine several ways in 



48 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

which it might have originated ; nor is it at all neces- 
sary to suppose, with Julius Frontinus, that two young 
men were dressed up by the Dictator to personate 
the sons of Leda. It is probable that Livy is correct 
when he says that the Roman general, in the hour of 
peril, vowed a temple to Castor. If so, nothing could 
be more natural than that the multitude should ascribe 
the victory to the favor of the Twin Gods. When 
such was the prevailing sentiment, any man who chose 
to declare that, in the midst of the confusion and 
slaughter, he had seen two godlike forms on white 
horses scattering the Latines, would find ready cre- 
dence. We know, indeed, that in modern times a very 
similar story actually found credence among a people 
much more civilized than the Romans of the fifth cen- 
tury before Christ. A chaplain of Cortes, writing 
about thirty years after the conquest of Mexico, in 
an age of printing-presses, libraries, universities, 
scholars, logicians, jurists, and statesmen, had the face 
to assert that in one engagement against the Indians 
St. James had appeared on a grey horse at the head 
of the Castilian adventurers. Many of these adven- 
turers were living when this lie was printed. One of 
them, honest Bernal Diaz, wrote an account of the 
expedition. He had the evidence of his own senses 
against the legend; but he seems to have distrusted 
even the evidence of his own senses. He says that he 
was in the battle, and that he saw a grey horse with a 
man on his back, but that the man was, to his think- 
ing, Francesco de Morla, and not the ever-blessed 
apostle St. James. "Nevertheless," Bernal adds, "it 
may be that the person on the grey horse was the 
glorious apostle St. James, and that I, sinner that I 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 49 

am, was unworthy to see him." The Romans of the 
age of Cincinnatus were probably quite as credulous 
as the Spanish subjects of Charles the Fifth. It is 
therefore conceivable that the appearance of Castor 
and Pollux may have become an article of faith before 
the generation which had fought at Regillus had 
passed away. Nor could anything be more natural 
than that the poets of the next age should embellish 
this story, and make the celestial horsemen bear the 
tidings of victory to Rome. ... It was ordained 
that a grand muster and inspection of the equestrian 
body [the knights of Rome] should be part of the 
ceremonial performed on the anniversary of the battle 
of Regillus in honor of Castor and Pollux, the two 
equestrian gods. All the knights, clad in purple and 
crowned with olive, were to meet at a Temple of 
Mars in the suburbs. Thence they were to ride in 
state to the Forum, where the Temple of the Twins 
stood. This pageant was, during several centuries, 
considered as one of the most splendid sights of Rome. 
In the time of Dionysius the cavalcade sometimes con- 
sisted of five thousand horsemen, all persons of fair 
repute and easy fortune. 

There can be no doubt that the Censors, who in- 
stituted this august ceremony, acted in concert with 
the Pontiffs, to whom, by the constitution of Rome, 
the superintendence of the public worship belonged; 
and it is probable that those high religious func- 
tionaries were, as usual, fortunate enough to find in 
their books or traditions some warrant for the innova- 
tion. The following poem was supposed to have been 
made for this great occasion. 



50 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 

A Lay Sung at the Feast of Castor and Pollux on the 
Ides of Quintilis, in the Year of the City CCCCLI. 



Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note! 

Ho, lictors, clear the way ! 
The Knights will ride in all their pride 

Along the streets to-day. 
To-day the doors and windows 

Are hung with garlands all, 
From Castor in the Forum 

To Mars without the wall. 
Each Knight is robed in purple, 

With olive each is crowned; 10 

A gallant war-horse under each 

Paws haughtily the ground. 
While flows the Yellow River, 

While stands the Sacred Hill, 

2 The lictors attended upon the magistrates, each consul having 
twelve. As a sign of their office they bore each a bundle of 
fasces or rods with an axe protruding from the middle. 

7 Castor is here used for the temple of Castor as in the next line 
Mars is so used for the temple of Mars. 

13 Yellow River, the Tiber. 

14 The Sacred Hill was beyond the Tiber between it and the Anio 

three Roman miles from the city. It took its name from the 
quieting of a rebellion of the army that had marched away to 
found a new city there. 



Is Knights a Roman term or not? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 51 

The proud Ides of Quintilis 

Shall have such honor still. 
Gay are the Martian Kalends: 

December's Nones are gay: 
But the proud Ides, when the squadron rides, 

Shall be Rome's whitest day. 20 



Unto the Great Twin Brethren 

We keep the solemn feast. 
Swift, swift, the Great Twin Brethren 

Came spurring from the east. 
They came o'er wild Parthenius, 

Tossing in waves of pine, 
O'er Cirrha's dome, o'er Adria's foam, 

O'er purple Apennine, 
From where with flutes and dances 

Their ancient mansion rings, 3° 

In lordly Lacedaemon, 

15-17 The Ides was the middle of the month. As the Roman year 
began with March, Quintilis, the fifth month, corresponded 
with our July. The Kalends was the first day of • the month, 
the Martian Kalends, therefore, March first. 

18 December's Nones was the fifth of December. 

21 The Great Twin Brethren were Castor and Pollux. The lines 
following tell of the course of the two gods from their Eastern 
birthplace to Rome. 

25 Parthenius. The Parthenian range of mountains in the Peolo- 
penessus. 

27 Cirrha, a city in the Corinthian gulf on the way to the shrine 
of Delphi. Adria's foam, the Adriatic sea. 

31 Sparta, the ancient capital city of Lacedaemon, at one time had 
two heads, and that was in agreement with the circumstance 
that it was said to be the city of Castor and Pollux. 



What does the poet mean by the squadron in line 19? 
Sparta has been the symbol for a stern simplicity and denial of 
luxury. Does the narrator write of it so here or not? 



52 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

The City of two kings, 
To where, by Lake Regillus, 

Under the Porcian height, 
All in the lands of Tusculum, 

Was fought the glorious fight. 



Now on the place of slaughter 

Are cots and sheep folds seen, 
And rows of vines, and fields of wheat, 

And apple-orchards green; 40 

The swine crush the big acorns 

That fall from Corners oaks. 
Upon the turf by the Fair Fount 

The reaper's pottage smokes. 
The fisher baits his angle; 

The hunter twangs his bow; 
Little they think on those strong limbs 

That moulder deep below. 
Little they think how sternly 

That day the trumpets pealed; so 

How in the slippery swamp of blood 

Warrior and war-horse reeled; 
How wolves came with fierce gallop, 

And crows on eager wings, 
To tear the flesh of captains, 

35 Tusculum was a city southeast of Rome on the height called 
Alba Longa. 



Define: cots, sheepfolds, pottage, angle, twangs, turf, fount, 
moulder, pealed, reeled. 

Is the scene of the battle peaceful now or not? Why does the 
narrator think of it so? 

Why is it particularly captains and kings that the poet thinks of 
as being preyed upon by the crows? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 53 

And peck the eyes of kings ; 
How thick the dead lay scattered 

Under the Porcian height ; 
How through the gates of Tusculum 

Raved the wild stream of flight ; 6o 

And how the Lake Regillus 

Bubbled with crimson foam, 
What time the Thirty Cities 

Came forth to war with Rome. 



But, Roman, when thou standest 

Upon that holy ground, 
Look thou with heed on the dark rock 

That girds the dark lake round, 
So shalt thou see a hoof -mark 

Stamped deep into the flint: 7 ° 

It was no hoof of mortal steed 

That made so strange a dint : 
There to the Great Twin Brethren 

Vow thou thy vows, and pray 
That they, in tempest and in fight, 

Will keep thy head alway. 

5 

Since last the Great Twin Brethren 
Of mortal eyes were seen, 

63 The Thirty Cities spoken of were those that, according to the 
story, Mamilius of Tusculum succeeded in uniting together 
against Rome in the interest of the Tarquins. This was the 
last attempt of the Tarquins against the city. 



Define: raved, heed, girds, flint, mortal, dint, vow. 

What do you understand was the mark on the flint of stanza four? 



54 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Have years gone by an hundred 

And fourscore and thirteen. 8o 

That summer a Virginius 

Was Consul first in place ; 
The second was stout Aulus, 

Of the Posthumian race. 
The Herald of the Latines 

From Gabii came in state : 
The Herald of the Latines 

Passed through Rome's Eastern Gate 
The Herald of the Latines 

Did in our Forum stand; 9° 

And there he did his office, 

A sceptre in his hand. 



"Hear, Senators and people 

Of the good town of Rome, 
The Thirty Cities charge you 

To bring the Tarquins home ; 
And if ye still be stubborn, 

To work the Tarquins wrong, 
The Thirty Cities warn you, 

Look that your walls be strong." 



IOO 



82 Consul -first in place. Rome had two consuls at the same time. 
85 The Herald of the Latines was a messenger sent by the league 
of thirty cities to Rome. 



Define: herald, sceptre. 

Was the physical appearance of the gods to human eyes of fre- 
quent occurrence in the Roman understanding or not? 

What did the Consul Aulus mean by his story? What was the 
eagle's nest? 

What do you understand by the Herald's doing his office? 

In what spirit did Aulus tell the story? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 55 



Then spake the Consul Aulus, 

He spake a bitter jest: 
"Once the jays sent a message 

Unto the eagle's nest: 
Now yield thou up thine eyrie 

Unto the carrion-kite, 
Or come forth valiantly, and face 

The jays in mortal fight. 
Forth looked in wrath the eagle ; 

And carrion-kite and jay, ITO 

Soon as they saw his beak and claw 

Fled screaming far away." 

8 

The Herald of the Latines 

Hath hied him back in state ; 
The Fathers of the City 

Are met in high debate. 
Thus spake the elder Consul, 

An ancient man and wise : 
"Now hearken, Conscript Fathers, 

To that which I advise. I2 ° 

In seasons of great peril 

*T is good that one bear sway; 

119 Conscript Fathers. They were those patricians who had their 
names written down in the roll of the Senate. 



Define: jest, eyrie, carrion-kite, beak, hearken, peril, sway. 

Did the Romans easily give up their power to one man, as you 
think? What about their fears, then, when they choose a dictator? 

How has the Herald of the Latines understood the story? 

Why did they think it good for one to "bear sway" in "seasons 
of great peril"? 



56 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Then choose we a Dictator, 

Whom all men shall obey. 
Camerium knows how deeply 

The sword of Aulus bites, 
And all our city calls him 

The man of seventy fights. 
Then let him be Dictator 

For six months and no more, x 3° 

And have a Master of the Knights, 

And axes twenty-four." 

9 

So Aulus was Dictator, 

The man of seventy fights ; 
He made iEbutius Elva 

His Master of the Knights. 
On the third morn thereafter, 

At dawning of the day, 
Did Aulus and iEbutius 

Set forth with their array. *4o 

Sempronius Atratinus 

Was left in charge at home 
With boys, and with gray-headed men, 

To keep the walls of Rome. 
Hard by the Lake Regillus 

Our camp was pitched at night; 
Eastward a mile the Latines lay, 

Under the Porcian height. 

132 Axes twenty-four. During the six months the Dictator had full 
power, and so the lictors of both consuls carrying each the 
axe in the bundle of fasces attended upon him, a total of 
twenty-four. 



Did the Romans prepare for the battle rapidly or slackly? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 57 

Far over hill and valley 

Their mighty host was spread; x 5° 

And with their thousand watch-fires 

The midnight sky was red. 

10 

Up rose the golden morning 

Over the Porcian height, 
The proud Ides of Quintilis 

Marked evermore with white. 
Not without secret trouble 

Our bravest saw the foes ; 
For girt by threescore thousand spears, 

The thirty standards rose. l6 ° 

From every warlike city 

That boasts the Latian name, 
Foredoomed to dogs and vultures, 

That gallant army came ; 
From Setia's purple vineyards, 

From Norba's ancient wall, 
From the white streets of Tusculum, 

The proudest town of all; 
From where the Witch's Fortress 

O'erhangs the dark-blue seas; 1 7° 

169 Witch's Fortress, the home of Circe, as it was thought, and so 
called Circeii 



Define: girt, standards, foredoomed, vultures, witch. 

Why does the poet speak of the Ides of Quintilis as "marked 
evermore with white" ? 

What was the gallant army that was "foredoomed to dogs and 
vultures" in line 163? 

!po you understand that the cities named in lines 165 to 169 are 
friends or enemies of Rome? 



58 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

From the still glassy lake that sleeps 

Beneath Aricia's trees, — 
Those trees in whose dim shadow 

The ghastly priest doth reign, 
The priest who slew the slayer, 

And shall himself be slain; 
From the drear banks of Ufens, 

Where flights of marsh-fowl play, 
And buffaloes lie wallowing 

Through the hot summer's day; l8 ° 

From the gigantic watch-towers, 

No work of earthly men, 
Whence Cora's sentinels o'erlook 

The never-ending fen; 
From the Laurentian jungle, 

The wild hog's reedy home; 
From the green steeps whence Anio leaps 

In floods of snow-white foam. 



ii 

Aricia, Cora, Norba, 

Velitrae, with the might '9° 

Of Setia and of Tusculum, 

Were marshalled on the right: 

175 The priest who slew the slayer, according to the story, was one 
• who had been a runaway slave and who had conquered his 
opponent in single combat. He would remain priest until an- 
other slave, challenging him, should slay him and so take his 
place. Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, is credited with having 
founded this temple in Aricia. 



Define: drear, gigantic, sentinel, fen, marshalled, jungle. 

Does the tenth stanza give an impression of wildness or of 
ordered civilization in these places from which Rome's enemies come? 
How does that lessen or heighten our apprehensions for them? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 59 

The leader was Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name; 
Upon his head a helmet 

Of red gold shone like flame; 
High on a gallant charger 

Of dark-gray hue he rode; 
Over his gilded armor 

A vest of purple flowed, 200 

Woven in the land of sunrise 

By Syria's dark-browed daughters, 
And by the sails of Carthage brought 

Far o'er the southern waters. 

12 

Lavinium and Laurentum 

Had on the left their post, 
With all the banners of the marsh, 

And banners of the coast. 
Their leader was false Sextus, 

That wrought the deed of shame : 2I ° 

With restless pace and haggard face 

To his last field he came. 
Man said he saw strange visions 

Which none beside might see, 

209 This is the Sextus of the preceding poem, "Horatius". Failing 
in the attack on Rome with Lars Porsena, he has organized 
the new league of the Latian cities against Rome. 



Define: charger, armor, post, haggard, visions. 

Does the poet make us think of Mamilius as the more like Sextus 
or like Porsena? 

What does the poet mean by "banners of the marsh" and "ban- 
ners of the coast"? 

Why does the narrator of the story say that Sextus came to "his 
last field" "with restless pace and haggard face"? What does he 
want us to know about him? 



60 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And that strange sounds were in his ears 

Which none might hear but he. 
A woman fair and stately, 

But pale as are the dead, 
Oft through the watches of the night 

Sat spinning by his bed. 220 

And as she plied the distaff, 

In a sweet voice and low, 
She sang of great old houses, 

And fights fought long ago. 
So spun she, and so sang she, 

Until the east was gray, 
Then pointed to her bleeding breast, 

And shrieked, and fled away. 

13 

But in the centre thickest 

Were ranged the shields of foes, 23 ° 

And from the centre loudest 

The cry of battle rose. 
There Tibur marched and Pedum 

Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, 
And Ferentinum of the rock, 

And Gabii of the pool. 
There rode the Volscian succors : 

There, in a dark stern ring, 

220 The woman who sat spinning by his bed is doubtless the Roman 
matron Lucretia whom he injured, so bringing upon himself 
his expulsion from the city. 



Define: stately, watches, stern, succors. 

Why should the Roman exiles gather in a ring? Why was it 
dark and stern? 



25° 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 61 

The Roman exiles gathered close 

Around the ancient king. 24 ° 

Though white as Mount Soracte, 

When winter nights, are long, 
His beard flowed down o'er mail and belt, 

His heart and hand were strong; 
Under his hoary eyebrows 

Still flashed forth quenchless rage, 
And, if the lance shook in his grip, 

'T was more with hate than age. 
Close at his side was Titus 

On an Apulian steed, 
Titus, the youngest Tarquin, 

Too good for such a breed. 

14 

Now on each side the leaders 

Gave signal for the charge ; 
And on each side the footmen 

Strode on with lance and targe ; 
And on each side the horsemen 

Struck their spurs deep in gore, 
And front to front the armies 

Met with a mighty roar: 
And under that great battle 

The earth with blood was red ; 

240 The ancient king was Tarquin, the father of Sextus. 

Define: mail, hoary, quenchless, breed, lance, targe, gore. 

Does this gathering of the enemies of Rome make at all as 
terrifying an impression as that of the gathering under Porsena? 

How was this battle different from that before the bridge in the 
preceding poem? 

When Sextus rides out foremost feas he changed in appearance 
or manner from the Sextus described in stanza twelve? 



260 



62 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And, like the Pomptine fog at morn, 

The dust hung overhead; 
And louder still and louder 

Rose from the darkened field 
The braying of the war-horns, 

The clang of sword and shield, 
The rush of squadrons sweeping 

Like whirlwinds o'er the plain, 2 7° 

The shouting of the slayers, 

And screeching of the slain. 

15 

False Sextus rode out foremost; 

His look was high and bold ; 
His corselet was of bison's hide, 

Plated with steel and gold. 
As glares the famished eagle 

From the Digentian rock 
On a choice lamb that bounds alone 

Before Bandusia's flock, 28 ° 

Herminius glared on Sextus, 

And came with eagle speed, 
Herminius on black Auster, 

Brave champion on brave steed ; 
In his right hand the broadsword 

That kept the bridge so well, 

263 Pomptine fog, that of the Pomptine (Pontine) marshes in the 
lowlands of Latium. 



Define: braying, clang, corselet, glares, famished. 

Does the right or wrong of his cause have anything to do with 
the courage that Sextus shows, as the author would have us think? 

Why should Herminius glare like a famished eagle, or is the 
figure of these lines not a happy one? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 63 

And on his helm the crown he won 

When proud Fidense fell. 
Woe to the maid whose lover 

Shall cross his path to-day! 29 ° 

False Sextus saw, and trembled, 

And turned, and fled away. 
As turns, as flies, the woodman 

In the Calabrian brake, 
When through the reeds gleams the round eye 

Of that fell speckled snake ; 
So turned, so fled, false Sextus, 

And hid him in the rear, 
Behind the dark Lavinian ranks, 

Bristling with crest and spear. * 00 

16 

But far to north ^butius, 

The Master of the Knights, 
Gave Tubero of Norba 

To feed the Porcian kites. 
Next under those red horse-hoofs 

Flaccus of Setia lay; 
Better had he been pruning 

Among his elms that day. 
Mamilius saw the slaughter, 

And tossed his golden crest, ^ 10 

And towards the Master of the Knights 

Through the thick battle pressed. 

Define: brake, reeds, fell, bristling, kites. 
To which side did Tubero, line 303, belong? 
Whose were the "red horse-hoofs" of line 305? 

What feeling do you imagine in Mamilius when he tosses his 
golden crest? 

Who was the Master of the Knights? 



64 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

yEbutius smote Mamilius 

So fiercely on the shield 
That the great lord of Tusculum 

Wellnigh rolled on the field. 
Mamilius smote ^Ebutius, 

With a good aim and true, 
Just where the neck and shoulder join, 

And pierced him through and through; 2 20 

And brave iEbutius Elva 

Fell swooning to the ground, 
But a thick wall of bucklers 

Encompassed him around. 
His clients from the battle 

Bare him some little space, 
And filled a helm from the dark lake, 

And bathed his brow and face; 
And when at last he opened 

His swimming eyes to light, 330 

Men say, the earliest word he spake 

Was, "Friends, how goes the fight?" 

17 

But meanwhile in the centre 

Great deeds of arms were wrought; 
There Aulus the Dictator 

And there Valerius fought. 
Aulus with his good broadsword 

A bloody passage cleared 

325 Clients, in Rome, were those who attached themselves to the 
great families in a relationship above that of slave, being in 
turn defended by them. 



Does what Aebutius says in line 332 seem wholly natural and 
Roman or not? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 65 

To where, amidst the thickest foes, 

He saw the long white beard. 340 

Flat lighted that good broadsword 

Upon proud Tarquin's head. 
He dropped the lance ; he dropped the reins ; 

He fell as fall the dead. 
Down Aulus springs to slay him, 

With eyes like coals of fire; 
But faster Titus hath sprung down, 

And hath bestrode his sire. 
Latian captains, Roman knights, 

Fast down to earth they spring, 350 

And hand to hand they fight on foot 

Around the ancient king. 
First Titus gave tall Cseso 

A death wound in the face; 
Tall Caeso was the bravest man 

Of the brave Fabian race: 
Aulus slew Rex of Gabii, 

The priest of Juno's shrine: 
Valerius smote down Julius, 

Of Rome's great Julian line; s 6 ° 

Julius, who left his mansion 

High on the Velian hill, 
And through all turns of weal and woe 

Followed proud Tarquin still. 

362 Velian. The Velian hill was one of the seven hills of Rome. 



Define: sire, shrine, weal, wOe. 
Whose was the long white beard of line 340? 
How does the fighting here in stanza seventeen differ from that 
of a modern battle? What would the leaders be doing? 

Why should the first close struggle center about the ancient king? 
Is Tarquin the leader of the Latines or not? 



66 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Now right across proud Tarquin 

A corpse was Julius laid ; 
And Titus groaned with rage and grief, 

And at Valerius made. 
Valerius struck at Titus, 

And lopped off half his crest ; ^° 

But Titus stabbed Valerius 

A span deep in the breast. 
Like a mast snapped by the tempest, 

Valerius reeled and fell. 
Ah ! woe is me for the good house 

That loves the people well ! 
Then shouted loud the Latines, 

And with one rush they bore 
The struggling Romans backward 

Three lances' length and more ; ^so 

And up they took proud Tarquin, 

And laid him on a shield, 
And four strong yeomen bare him, 

Still senseless, from the field. 

18 

But fiercer grew the fighting 

Around Valerius dead; 
For Titus dragged him by the foot, 

And Aulus by the head. 
"On, Latines, on!" quoth Titus, 

"See how the rebels fly!" 390 

"Romans, stand firm!" quoth Aulus, 

"And win this fight or die! 

What does the man telling the story think the good house that 
loved the people well? 

Of what rank in Rome do you think the teller of the story was? 






r ^ 1 


! J-' 

l I 

I 

L 





BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 67 

They must not give Valerius 

To raven and to kite ; 
For aye Valerius loathed the wrong, 

And aye upheld the right; 
And for your wives and babies 

In the front rank he fell. 
Now play the men for the good house 

That loves the people well!" 4 °° 

Then tenfold round the body 

The roar of battle rose, 
Like the roar of a burning forest 

When a strong north-wind blows. 
Now backward, and now forward, 

Rocked furiously the fray, 
Till none could see Valerius, 

And none wist where he lay. 
For shivered arms and ensigns 

Were heaped there in a mound, 4I ° 

And corpses stiff, and dying men 

That writhed and gnawed the ground ; 
And wounded horses kicking, 

And snorting purple foam; 
Right well did such a couch befit 

A Consular of Rome. 

Define: wist, writhed, befit. 

What would it have been to give Valerius "To raven and to 
kite"? 

Is Aulus appealing to part of the Romans mainly or to all of 
them in lines 395-400? 

Why was that a couch fitting for a "Consular of Rome," as the 
poet declares in line 415? 

Is the fight over Valerius more or less bitter than over Tarquin? 



68 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

20 

But north looked the Dictator; 

North looked he long and hard; 
And spake to Caius Cossus, 

The Captain of his Guard : * 20 

"Caius, of all the Romans 

Thou hast the keenest sight; 
Say, what through yonder storm of dust 

Comes from the Latian right?" 

21 

Then answered Caius Cossus : 

"I see an evil sight: 
The banner of proud Tusculum 

Comes from the Latian right; 
I see the plumed horsemen ; 

And far before the rest 43 ° 

I see the dark-gray charger, 

I see the purple vest; 
I see the golden helmet 

That shines far off like flame ; 
So ever rides Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name." 

"Now hearken, Caius Cossus : 

Spring on thy horse's back ; 
Ride as the wolves of Apennine 

Were all upon thy track; 44 ° 

Are the Romans able to stand any further addition to the forces 
of the enemy at this point of the battle? What does the Dictator 
think about that? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 69 

Haste to' our southward battle, 

And never draw thy rein 
Until thou find Herminius, 

And bid him come amain/' 

23 

So Aulus spake, and turned him 

Again to that fierce strife; 
And Caius Cossus mounted, 

And rode for death and life. 
Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs 

The helmets of the dead, 450 

And many a curdling pool of blood 

Splashed him from heel to head. 
So came he far to southward, 

Where fought the Roman host, 
Against the banners of the marsh 

And banners of the coast. 
Like corn before the sickle 

The stout Lavinians fell, 
Beneath the edge of the true sword 

That kept the bridge so well. 460 



24 

"Herminius! Aulus greets thee; 
He bids thee come with speed, 

What is the sense in which the author uses the word battle in 
line 441? 

Does it make the enemy seem more or less numerous and power- 
ful to think of them as banners of the marsh and banners of the 
Coast? 

In whose favor do you feel that the battle is going- in stanza 23? 

Whose is the "true sword that kept the bridge so well", line 4.60? 



70 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

To help our central battle; 

For sore is there our need. 
There wars the youngest Tarquin, 

And there the Crest of Flame, 
The Tusculan Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name. 
Valerius hath fallen fighting 

In front of our array, 47 ° 

And Aulus of the seventy fields 

Alone upholds the day." 

25 

Herminius beat his bosom, 

But never a word he spake. 
He clapped his hand on Auster's mane, 

He gave the reins a shake, 
Away, away went Auster, 

Like an arrow from the bow; 
Black Auster was the fleetest steed 

From Aufidus to Po. 480 

26 

Right glad were all the Romans 

Who, in that hour of dread, 
Against great odds bare up the war 

Around Valerius dead,- 
When from the south the cheering 

Rose with a mighty swell: 

Who was the youngest Tarquin? 
What does Cossus mean by the Crest of Flame? 
Why the designation, "Aulus of the seventy fields"? 
What does the poet mean to show in Herminius by his silence as 
he hurries away to the help of Aulus? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 71 

"Herminius comes, Herminius, 
Who kept the bridge so well !" 

- 27 

Mamilius spied Herminius, 

And dashed across the way. 490 

"Herminius! I have sought thee 

Through many a bloody day. 
One of us two, Herminius, 

Shall nevermore go home. 
I will lay on for Tusculum, 

And lay thou on for Rome !" 

28 

All round them paused the battle, 

While met in mortal fray 
The Roman and the Tusculan, 

The horses black and gray. 5°o 

Herminius smote Mamilius 

Through breastplate and through breast; 
And fast flowed out the purple blood 

Over the purple vest. 
Mamilius smote Herminius 

Through head-piece and through head ; 
And side by side those chiefs of pride 

Together fell down dead. 

Does the speech of Mamilius seem that of a man full of anger 
or bitterness or of one who delights in rivalry, in conflict? 

Would a modern army pause to watch the fight of two champions? 

How is this conflict between Mamilius and Herminius more or 
less important than any preceding part of the battle? 

Has the author wished you to think well or ill of Mamilius? Has 
his telling of the devotion of the horse any bearing upon this? 

Does the death of Mamilius foreshadow the end of the battle 
for us or for his people only? 



72 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Down fell they dead together 

In a great lake of gore ; 5*o 

And still stood all who saw them fall 

While men might count a score. 



29 

Fast, fast, with heels wild spurning, 

The dark-gray charger fled ; 
He burst through ranks of fighting men, 

He sprang o'er heaps of dead. 
His bridle far out-streaming, 

His flanks all blood and foam, 
He sought the southern mountains, 

The mountains of his home. 520 

The pass was steep and rugged, 

The wolves they howled and whined ; 
But he ran like a whirlwind up the pass, 

And he left the wolves behind. 
Through many a startled hamlet 

Thundered his flying feet; 
He rushed through the gate of Tusculum 

He rushed up the long white street ; 
He rushed by tower and temple, 

And paused not from his race 530 

Till he stood before his master's door 

In the stately market-place. 
And straightway round him gathered 

A pale and trembling crowd, 
And when they knew him, cries of rage 

Brake forth, and wailing loud : 

Define: gore, spurning, hamlet, stately, brake. 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 73 

And women rent their tresses 

For their great prince's fall ; 
And old men girt on their old swords, 

And went to man the wall. 540 

30 

But, like a graven image, 

Black Auster kept his place, 
And ever wistfully he looked 

Into his master's face. 
The raven-mane that daily, 

With pats and fond caresses, 
The young Herminia washed and combed, 

And twined in even tresses, 
And decked with colored ribands 

From her own gay attire, 550 

Hung sadly o'er her father's corpse 

In carnage and in mire. 
Forth with a shout sprang Titus, 

And seized black Auster's rein. 
Then Aulus sware a fearful oath, 

And ran at him amain. 
"The furies of thy brother 

With me and mine abide, 
If one of your accursed house 

Upon black Auster ride !" 560 

As on an Alpine watch-tower 

From heaven comes down the flame, 

Define: ren<, tresses, graven, wistfully, carnage, amain, accursed, 
flame. 

Why did Titus spring and seize "black Auster's mane"? Was it 
because of good or evil qualities in him? 

Is the feeling toward Titus in Aulus one of national or personal 
animosity? Can you see that Aulus has any reason for personal 
feeling? 



74 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Full on the neck of Titus 

The blade of Aulus came; 
And out the red blood spouted, 

In a wide arch and tall, 
As spouts a fountain in the court 

Of some rich Capuan's hall. 
The knees of all the Latines 

Were loosened with dismay 570 

When dead, on dead Herminius, 

The bravest Tarquin lay. 

31 

And Aulus the Dictator 

Stroked Auster's raven mane, 
With heed he looked unto the girths, 

With heed unto the rein. 
"Now bear me well, black Auster, 

Into yon thick array ; 
And thou and I will have revenge 

For thy good lord this day." 580 



32 

So spake he; and was buckling 

Tighter black Auster's band, 
When he was aware of a princely pair 

That rode at his right hand. 

Which of the two horses does the author wish us to think of as 
having the greater devotion to his master? 

Is Aulus confident or desperately revengeful as he talks to the 
horse? 

What does the white armor and white horses of the princely pair 
suggest ? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REG1LLUS 75 

So like they were, no mortal 

Might one from other know; 
White as snow their armor was, 

Their steeds were white as snow. 
Never on earthly anvil 

Did such rare armor gleam ; 590 

And never did such gallant steeds 

Drink of an earthly stream. 

33 

And all who saw them trembled, 

And pale grew every cheek ; 
And Aulus the Dictator 

Scarce gathered voice to speak. 
"Say by what name men call you? 

What city is your home? 
And wherefore ride ye in such guise 

Before the ranks of Rome? ,, 6o ° 

34 

"By many names men call us; 

In many lands we dwell: 
Well Samothracia knows us; 

Cyrene knows us well. 
Our house in gay Tarentum 

Is hung each morn with flowers; 

603 The Island of Samothracia was in the Aegean. 

604 Cyrene was a city founded by Greeks in Africa. 

605 Tarentum was another Greek colony in southern Italy, noted for 

its wealth and luxury. 



How does line 589 suggest that armor was made in those days? 
How would it be made now if we used it? 

Is there any imaginative appeal through the enumeration of the 
various places with which the strange horsemen are associated? 



76 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

High o'er the masts of Syracuse 

Our marble portal towers ; 
But by the proud Eurotas 

Is our dear native home; 6l ° 

And for the right we come to fight 

Before the ranks of Rome." 



35 

So answered those strange horsemen, 

And each couched low his spear; 
And forthwith all the ranks of Rome 

Were bold, and of good cheer. 
And on the thirty armies 

Came wonder and affright, 
And Ardea wavered on the left, 

And Cora on the right. 62 ° 

"Rome t© the charge!" cried Aulus; 

"The foe begins to yield ! 
Charge for the hearth of Vesta ! 

Charge for the Golden Shield! 
Let no man stop to plunder, 

But slay, and slay, and slay; 
The gods who live forever 

Are on our side to-day. " 



609 The Eurotas was a river on the border of Lacedaemon. 

624 The Golden Shield, by Roman tradition, fell from heaven in the 

days pf Numa Pompilius. It was preserved as that of the god 

Mars. 



What foundation was there saying, as in line 611, that the Roman 
cause was right? 

What were the thirty armies of line 617? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REG1LLUS 77 

36 

Then the fierce trumpet-flourish 

From earth to heaven arose. 63 ° 

The kites know well the long stern swell 

That bids the Romans close. 
Then the good sword of Aulus 

Was lifted up to slay ; 
Then, like a crag down Apennine, 

Rushed Auster through the fray. 
But under those strange horsemen 

Still thicker lay the slain; 
And after those strange horses 

Black Auster toiled in vain. 6 4° 

Behind them Rome's long battle 

Came rolling on the foe, 
Ensigns dancing wild above, 

Blades all in line below. 
So comes the Po in flood-time 

Upon the Celtic plain; 
So comes the squall, blacker than night, 

Upon the Adrian main. 
Now, by our Sire Quirinus, 

It was a goodly sight 6s ° 

To see the thirty standards 

Swept down the tide of flight. 

649 Quirinus. Romulus as deified was given this name. 



Why do the kites "know well the long stern swell that bids the 
Romans close"? 

Why "after those strange horses'* did black Auster toil in -vain? 

Why were the "Ensigns dancing wild above"? 

Are the figures of lines 645-648 such as suggest triumphant or un- 
certain power? 

Whose were the thirty standards and how were they "Swept down 
the tide of flight"? 



78 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

So flies the spray of Adria 

When the black squall doth blow, 
So corn-sheaves in the flood-time 

Spin down the whirling Po. 
False Sextus to the mountains 

Turned first his horse's head ; 
And fast fled Ferentinum, 

And fast Lanuvium fled. 66 ° 

The horsemen of Nomentum 

Spurred hard out of the fray ; 
The footmen of Velitrse 

Threw shield and spear away. 
And underfoot was trampled, 

Amidst the mud and gore, 
The banner of proud Tusculum, 

That never stooped before. 
And down went Flavius Faustus, 

Who led his stately ranks 67 ° 

From where the apple-blossoms wave 

On Anio's echoing banks, 
And Tullus of Arpinum, 

Chief of the Volscian aids, 
And Metius with the long fair curls, 

The love of Anxur's maids, 
And the white head of Vulso, 

The great Arician seer, 
And Nepos of Laurentum, 

The hunter of the deer ; 68 ° 

And in the back false Sextus 

Felt the good Roman steel, 

Why does the poet give so many names of those that fled? Does 
it increase or lessen the sense of the disaster? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 79 

And wriggling in the dust he died, 

Like a worm beneath the wheel. 
And fliers and pursuers 

Were mingled in a mass, 
And far away the battle 

Went roaring through the pass. 

37 
Sempronius Atratinus 

Sate in the Eastern Gate, 6go 

Beside him were three Fathers, 

Each in his chair of state; 
Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons 

That day were in the field, 
And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve 

Who kept the Golden Shield ; 
And Sergius, the High Pontiff, 

For wisdom far renowned; 
In all Etruria's colleges 

Was no such Pontiff found. 7 °° 

And all around the portal, 

And high above the wall, 
Stood a great throng of people, 

But sad and silent all ; 
Young lads, and stooping elders 

That might not bear the mail, 

695 The Twelve were patricians who had charge of the Golden Shield 
and of eleven others made like it that the chances of theft 
might be less. 

697 Pontiff, a priest. 



Does Sextus' death seem noble or ignoble? Does it seem a fitting 
sort of death or not, and why? 

What was the pass of line 688? See line 523. 

Were the people "sad and silent" because they had any great 
fear of the outcome, or for other reasons? 



80 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Matrons with lips that quivered, 

And maids with faces pale. 
Since the first gleam of daylight, 

Sempronius had not ceased * 10 

To listen for the rushing 

Of horse-hoofs from the east. 
The mist of eve was rising, 

The sun was hastening down, 
When he was aware of a princely pair 

Fast pricking towards the town. 
So like they were, man never 

Saw twins so like before ; 
Red with gore their armor was, 

Their steeds were red with gore. ? 20 



38 



"Hail to the great Asylum! 

Hail to the hill-tops seven! 
Hail to the fire that burns for aye, 

And the shield that fell from heaven ! 
This day, by Lake Regillus, 

Under the Porcian height, 
All in the lands of Tusculum 

Was fought a glorious fight; 
To-morrow your Dictator 



721 The great Asylum, because at its founding Romulus had pro- 
claimed it a refuge for fugitives. 



Why now did Sempronius expect the "rushing of horse-hoofs"? 

What was "the fire that burns for aye"? 

Line 715 is repeated from line 583. It is a little unpleasant for 
that reason and for the further reason that it is not as direct and 
graphic as the general style of the poem? Can you see why the 
author did not say simply that he saw the pair? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 81 

Shall bring in triumph home 730 

The spoils of thirty cities 

To deck the shrines of Rome!" 



39 



Then burst from that great concourse 

A shout that shook the towers, 
And some ran north, and some ran south, 

Crying, "The day is ours !" 
But on rode these strange horsemen, 

With slow and lordly pace ; 
And none who saw their bearing 

Durst ask their name or race. ?4° 

On rode they to the Forum, 

While laurel-boughs and flowers, 
From house-tops and from windows, 

Fell on their crests in showers. 
When they drew nigh to Vesta, 

They vaulted down amain, 
And washed their horses in the well 

That springs by Vesta's fane. 
And straight again they mounted, 

And rode to Vesta's door; ?*° 

Then, like a blast, away they passed, 

And no man saw them more. 



Define: deck, concourse, vaulted, amain, fane. 

Do the Romans at this time seem to have been ready believers in 
the supernatural, as appears in stanza 39? 

Why do you suppose that the horsemen rode to the Forum? 

Do you understand that the disappearance of the horsemen was 
mysterious or that they simply rode away? 



82 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

40 

And all the people trembled, 

And pale grew every cheek ; 
And Sergius the High Pontiff 

Alone found voice to speak: 
"The gods who live forever 

Have fought for Rome to-day ! 
These be the Great Twin Brethren 

To whom the Dorians pray. 760 

Back comes the Chief in triumph 

Who, in the hour of fight, 
Hath seen the Great Twin Brethren 

In harness on his right. 
Safe comes the ship to haven, 

Through billows and through gales, 
If once the Great Twin Brethren 

Sit shining on the sails. 
Wherefore they washed their horses 

In Vesta's holy well, 770 

Wherefore they rode to Vesta's door, 

I know, but may not tell. 
Here, hard by Vesta's Temple, 

Build we a stately dome 
Unto the Great Twin Brethren 

Who fought so well for Rome. 
And when the months returning 

Bring back this day of fight, 

760 The Dorians were one of the great branches of the Greek race. 



Define: haven, dome, harness, shining. 

Do you understand that it is the Romans particularly or others 
that the Great Twin Brethren favor? 

Does the High Pontiff tell the Romans something that they have 
not known in lines 761-768, or does he merely echo common tradition? 



BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS 83 

The proud Ides of Quintilis, 

Marked evermore with white, 78 ° 

Unto the Great Twin Brethren 

Let all the people throng, 
With chaplets and with offerings, 

With music and with song; 
And let the doors and windows 

Be hung with garlands all, 
And let the Knights be summoned 

To Mars without the wall. 
Thence let them ride in purple 

With joyous trumpet-sound, 79 ° 

795 The Great Twin Brethren. The Roman spirit and the modern 
spirit find a happy contrast in this poem and in some brief 
lines under the title, "The Great Twin Brethren," in The In- 
dependent for June 22, 19 11, as follows: 

The battle will not cease 

Till once again on those white steeds ye ride. 

O heaven-descended Twins, 

Before humanity's bewildered host. 

Our javelins 

Fly wide, 

And idle is our cannon's boast. 

Lead us, triumphant Brethren, Love and Peace. 

A fairer Golden Fleece 

Our more adventurous Argo fain would seek, 

But save, O Sons of Jove, 

Your blended light go with us, vain employ 

It were to rove 

This bleak, 

Blind waste. To unimagined joy 

Guide us, Immortal Brethren, Love and Peace. 

— Katherine Lee Bates. 



Define: chaplets, garlands, dome. 

Do you think that the beginning of the worship of Castor and 
Pollux is shown here as a consequence of their having helped Rome, 
or is it an old worship now made more sincere? Which does the tone 
of the Pontiff in the poem indicate? 

How is this story more or less stirring than "Horatius"? 

In which is the human interest the higher? 



84 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Each mounted on his war-horse, 
And each with olive crowned; 

And pass in solemn order 
Before the sacred dome, 

Where dwell the Great Twin Brethren 
Who fought so well for Rome!" 



VIRGINIA 

A collection consisting exclusively of war-songs 
would give an imperfect, or rather an erroneous, notion 
of the spirit of the old Latin ballads. The Patricians, 
during more than a century after the expulsion of 
the Kings, held all the high military commands. A 
Plebeian, even though, like Lucius Siccius, he were 
distinguished by his valor and knowledge of war, 
could serve only in subordinate posts. A minstrel, 
therefore, who wished to celebrate the early triumphs 
of his country, could hardly take any but Patricians 
for his heroes. The warriors who are mentioned in 
the two preceding lays — Horatius, Lartius, Herminius, 
Aulus Posthuminus, ^Ebutius Elva, Sempronius Atrat- 
inus, Valerius Poplicola — were all members of the 
dominant order; and a poet who was singing their 
praises, whatever his own political opinions might be, 
would naturally abstain from insulting the class to 
which they belonged, and from reflecting on the system 
which had placed such men at the head of the legions 
of the Commonwealth. 

But there was a class of compositions in which the 
great families were by no means so courteously 
treated. No parts of early Roman history are richer 
with poetical coloring than those which relate to the 
long contest between the privileged houses and the 
commonalty. The population of Rome was, from a 
very early period, divided into hereditary castes, 
which, indeed, readily united to repel foreign enemies, 

85 



86 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

but which regarded each other, during many years, 
with bitter animosity. . . . Among the grievances 
under which the Plebeians suffered three were felt as 
peculiarly severe. They were excluded from the 
highest magistracies, they were excluded from all share 
in the public lands ; and they were ground down to the 
dust by partial and barbarous legislation touching 
pecuniary contracts. The ruling class in Rome was a 
moneyed class ; and it made and administered the laws 
with a view solely to its own interest. Thus the re- 
lation between lender and borrower was mixed up 
with the relation between sovereign and subject. The 
great men held a large portion of the community in 
dependence by means of advances at enormous usury. 
The law of debt, framed by creditors and for the 
protection of creditors, was the most horrible that has 
ever been known among men. The liberty, and even 
the life, of the insolvent were at the mercy of the 
Patrician money-lenders. Children often became 
slaves in consequence of the misfortunes of their 
parents. The debtor was imprisoned, not in a public 
gaol under the care of impartial public functionaries, 
but in a private workhouse belonging to the creditor. 
Frightful stories were told respecting these dungeons. 
It was said that torture and brutal violation were com- 
mon ; that tight stocks, heavy chains, scanty measures 
of food, were used to punish wretches guilty of noth- 
ing but poverty ; and that brave soldiers, whose breasts 
were covered with honorable scars, were often marked 
still more deeply on the back by the scourges of high- 
born usurers. 

The Plebeians were, however, not wholly without 
constitutional rights. From an early period they had 



VIRGINIA 87 

been admitted to some share of political power. They 
-were enrolled each in his century, and were allowed a 
share, considerable though not proportioned to their 
numerical strength, in the disposal of those high dig- 
nities from which they were themselves excluded. 
Thus their position bore some resemblance to that of 
the Irish Catholics during the interval between the 
year 1792 and the year 1829. The Plebeians had also 
the privilege of annually appointing officers, named 
Tribunes, who had no active share in the government 
of the Commonwealth, but who, by degrees, acquired 
a power formidable even to the ablest and most reso- 
lute Consuls and Dictators. The person of the Trib- 
une was inviolable ; and, though he could directly effect 
little, he could obstruct everything. 

During more than a century after the institution of 
the Tribuneship, the Commons struggled manfully for 
the removal of grievances under which they labored; 
and, in spite of many checks and reverses, succeeded 
in wringing concession after concession from the stub- 
born aristocracy. At length, in the year of the city 
378, both parties mustered their whole strength for 
their last and most desperate conflict. The popular 
and active Tribune, Caius Licinius, proposed the three 
memorable laws which are called by his name, and 
which were intended to redress the three great evils 
of which the Plebeians complained. He was sup- 
ported with eminent ability and firmness by his col- 
league, Lucius Sextius. The struggle appears to have 
been the fiercest that ever in any community termi- 
nated without an appeal to arms. If such a contest 
had raged in any Greek city, the streets would have 
run with blood. But, even in the paroxysms of fac- 



88 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

tion, the Roman retained his gravity, his respect for 
law, and his tenderness for the lives of his fellow- 
citizens. Year after year, Licinius and Sextius were 
reelected Tribunes. Year after year, if the narrative 
which has come down to us is to be trusted, they con- 
tinued to exert to the full extent their power of 
stopping the whole machine of government. No 
curule magistrates could be chosen ; no military muster 
could be held. We know too little of the state of 
Rome in those days to be able to conjecture how, dur- 
ing that long anarchy, the peace was kept and ordi- 
nary justice administered between man and man. The 
animosity of both parties rose to the greatest height. 
The excitement, we may well suppose, would have 
been particularly intense at the annual election of the 
Tribunes. On such occasions there can be little doubt 
that the great families did all that could be done, by 
threats and caresses, to break the union of the Plebe- 
ians. That union, however, proved indissoluble. At 
length the good cause triumphed. The Licinian laws 
were carried. Lucius Sextius was the first Plebeian 
Consul, Caius Licinius the third. 

The results of this great change were singularly 
happy and glorious. Two centuries of prosperity, 
harmony, and victory followed the reconciliation of 
the orders. Men who remembered Rome engaged in 
waging petty wars almost within sight of the Capitol 
lived to see her the mistress of Italy. While the dis- 
abilities of the Plebeians continued, she was hardly 
able to maintain her ground against the Volscians and 
Hernicans. When those disabilities were removed, 
she rapidly became more than a match for Carthage 
and Macedon, 



VIRGINIA 89 

During the great Licinian contest the Plebeian poets 
were, doubtless, not silent. . . . These minstrels, 
as Niebuhr has remarked, appear to have generally 
taken the popular side. We can hardly be mistaken in 
supposing that, at the great crisis of the civil conflict, 
they employed themselves in versifying all the most 
powerful and virulent speeches of the Tribunes, and 
in heaping abuse on the leaders of the aristocracy. 
Every personal defect, every domestic scandal, every 
tradition dishonorable to a noble house, would be 
sought out, brought into notice, and exaggerated. The 
illustrious head of the aristocratical party, Marcus 
Furius Camillus, might perhaps be, in some measure, 
protected by his venerable age, and by the memory of 
his great services to the state. But Appius Claudius 
Crassus enjoyed no such immunity. He was de- 
scended from a long line of ancestors distinguished by 
their haughty demeanor, and by the inflexibility with 
which they had withstood all the demands of the Ple- 
beian order. While the political conduct and the de- 
portment of the Claudian nobles drew upon them the 
fiercest public hatred, they were accused of wanting, 
if any credit is due to the early history of Rome, a 
class of qualities which, in the military common- 
wealth, is sufficient to cover a multitude of offences. 
The chiefs of the family appear to have been eloquent, 
versed in civil business, and learned after the fashion 
of their age ; but in war they were not distinguished 
by skill or valor. Some of them, as if conscious 
where their weakness lay, had, when filling the high- 
est magistracies, taken internal administration as their 
department of public business, and left the military 
command to their colleagues. One of them had been 



90 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

intrusted with an army, and had failed ignominiously. 
None of them had been honored with a triumph. 
None of them had achieved any martial exploit, such 
as those by which Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, 
Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Aulus Cornelius Cossus, 
and, above all, the great Camillus, had extorted the 
reluctant esteem of the multitude. During the Licin- 
ian conflict, Appius Claudius Crassus signalized him- 
self by the ability and severity with which he 
harangued against the two great agitators. He would 
naturally, therefore, be the favorite mark of the Ple- 
beian satirists ; nor would they have been at a loss to 
find a point on which he was open to attack. 

His grandfather, called, like himself, Appius Clau- 
dius, had left a name as much detested as that of 
Sextus Tarquinius. He had been Consul more than 
seventy years before the introduction of the Licinian 
laws. By availing himself of a singular crisis in 
public feeling, he had obtained the consent of the 
Commons to the abolition of the Tribuneship, and had 
been chief of that Council of Ten to which the whole 
direction of the state had been committed. In a few 
months his administration had become universally 
odious. It was swept away by an irresistible outbreak 
of popular fury, and its memory was still held in ab- 
horrence by the whole city. The immediate cause of 
the downfall of this execrable government was said 
to have been an attempt made by Appius Claudius to 
get possession of a beautiful young girl of humble 
birth. The story ran that the Decemvir, unable to 
succeed by bribes and solicitations, resorted to an out- 
rageous act of tyranny. A vile dependent of the Clau- 
dian house laid claim to the damsel as his slave. The 



VIRGINIA 91 

cause was brought before the tribunal of Appius. 
The wicked magistrate, in defiance of the clearest 
proofs, gave judgment for the claimant. But the 
girl's father, a brave soldier, saved her from servi- 
tude and dishonor by stabbing her to the heart in the 
sight of the whole Forum. That blow was the signal 
for a general explosion. Camp and city rose at once ; 
the Ten were pulled down; the Tribuneship was re- 
established; and Appius escaped the hands of the 
executioner only by a voluntary death. 

It can hardly be doubted that a story so admirably 
adapted to the purposes both of the poet and of the 
demagogue would be eagerly seized upon by minstrels 
burning with hatred against the Patrician order, 
against the Claudian house, and especially against the 
grandson and namesake of the infamous Decemvir. 

In order that the reader may judge fairly of these 
fragments of the lay of Virginia, he must imagine 
himself a Plebeian who has just voted for the re- 
election of Sextius and Licinius. All the power of the 
Patricians has been exerted to throw out the two great 
champions of the Commons. Every Posthumius, 
^Emilius, and Cornelius has used his influence to the 
utmost. Debtors have been let out of the workhouses 
on condition of voting against the men of the people ; 
clients have been posted to hiss and interrupt the fa- 
vorite candidates ; Appius Claudius Crassus has spoken 
with more than his usual eloquence and asperity; all 
has been in vain ; Licinius and Sextius have a fifth time 
carried all the tribes; work is suspended; the booths 
are closed; the Plebeians bear on their shoulders the 
two champions of liberty through the Forum. Just 
at this moment it is announced that a popular poet, a 



92 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

zealous adherent of the Tribunes, has made a new song 
which will cut the Claudian nobles to the heart. The 
crowd gathers round him, and calls on him to recite 
it. He takes his stand on the spot where, according 
to tradition, Virginia, more than seventy years ago, 
was seized by the pander of Appius, and begins his 
story. 



VIRGINIA 93 



VIRGINIA 

Fragments of a Lay Sung in the Forum on the Day 
Whereon Lucius Sextius Sextinus Later anus and 
Cams Licinius Calvus Stolo Were Elected Tribunes 
of the Commons the Fifth Time, in the Year of 
the City CCCLXXXIL 

Ye good men of the Commons, with loving hearts 

and true, 
Who stand by the bold Tribunes that still have stood 

by you, 
Come, make a circle round me, and mark my tale with 

care, 
A tale of what Rome once hath borne, of what Rome 

yet may bear. 
This is no Grecian fable, of fountains running wine, 
Of maids with snaky tresses, or sailors turned to 

swine. 
Here, in this very Forum, under the noonday sun, 
In sight of all the people, the bloody deed was done. 
Old men still creep among us who saw that fearful 

day, 
Just seventy years and seven ago, when the wicked 

Ten bare sway. 



10 



The Gorgon Medusa once had beautiful hair, but the goddess 

Minerva in envy changed her ringlets into hissing serpents. 
Circe was the enchantress that kept Ulysses at the Aecen isle 

by her arts, turning his men into swine. 
The wicked Ten were the decemvirs who, after ruling mildly and 

impartially for a year and being elected a second time, entered 

upon the second year as tyrants. 
Why does the author speak of old men as creeping? 



94 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Of all the wicked Ten still the names are held ac- 
cursed, 
And of all the wicked Ten, Appius Claudius was the 

worst. 
He stalked along the Forum like King Tarquin in 

his pride; 
Twelve axes waited on him, six marching on a side ; 
The townsmen shrank to right and left, and eyed 

askance with fear 
His lowering brow, his curling mouth, which always 

seemed to sneer: 
That brow of hate, that mouth of scorn, marks all the 

kindred still; 
For never was there Claudius yet but wished the 

Commons ill; 
Nor lacks he fit attendance ; for close behind his heels, 
With outstretched chin and crouching pace, the client 

Marcus steals, 20 

His loins girt up to run with speed, be the errand 

what it may. 
And the smile flickering on his cheek, for aught his 

lord may say. 
Such varlets pimp and jest for hire among the lying 

Greeks : 
Such varlets still are paid to hoot when brave Licinius 

speaks. 

14 Twelve axes. See line 2 of the "Battle of Lake Regillus". 



Define: stalked, askance, lowering, sneer, scorn, kindred, crouch- 
ing, client, varlets. 

What was the thing that the teller of the story dislikes in 
Claudius? 

Can you see anything to suggest that the speaker is one of the 
Commons or of the patricians? Why does Macaulay use the term 
commons? See "Horatius", line 377. 



VIRGINIA 95 

Where'er ye shed the honey, the buzzing flies will 

crowd ; 
Where'er ye fling the carrion, the raven's croak is 

loud ; 
Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, the greedy pike 

ye see; 
And wheresoe'er such lord is found, such client still 

will be. 

Just then, as though one cloudless chink in a black 

stormy sky, 
Shines out the dewy morning-star, a fair young girl 

came by. so 

With her small tablets in her hand, and her satchel on 

her arm, 
Home she went bounding from the school, nor 

dreamed of shame or harm; 
And past those dreaded axes she innocently ran, 
With bright, frank brow that had not learned to blush 

at gaze of man ; 
And up the Sacred Street she turned, and, as she 

danced along, 
She warbled gayly to herself lines of the good old 

song, 

24 Licinius was the Tribune of the people at whose fifth election 
the story is supposed to be told. He was one of the early- 
Tribunes, and the Licinian laws, made to lessen the burdens 
of the plebeians, take their names from him. 

31 Tablets. They were made with wax surfaces in which the writ- 
ing was scratched with a stylus. They could then be smoothed 
over and used again. 

35 Sacred Street, via Sacra. It led to the Forum. 



Define: carrion, pike, chink, bounding. 
What does the poet mean by the figures of lines 25-27? 
Why does the narrator think of Virginia as a star in a stormy 
sky? 



96 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

How for a sport the princes came spurring from the 

camp, 
And found Lucrece, combing the fleece, under the 

midnight lamp. 
The maiden sang as sings the lark, when up he darts 

his flight, 
From his nest in the green April corn, to meet the 

morning light; 4 ° 

And Appius heard her sweet young voice, and saw her 

sweet young face, 
And loved her with the accursed love of his accursed 

race, 
And all along the Forum, and up the Sacred Street, 
His vulture eye pursued the trip of those small glanc- 
ing feet. 

Over the Alban mountains the light of morning 

broke ; 
From all the roofs of the Seven Hills curled the thin 

wreaths of smoke. 
The city-gates were opened ; the Forum all alive, 



38 Lucrece, combing the Heece. She was so discovered following 
a wager among the Roman princes regarding the loyalty of 
their wives in their absence. Riding to Rome from their camp 
outside the city, they found all but her feasting. 

44 The break following this line does not indicate an omission by the 
editor. The poem is given as written, Macaulay calling it the 
fragments of a lay. 



Define: sport, fleece, accursed, vulture. 

How does Virginia's light-hearted gaiety heighten the story in- 
terest? 

Why does the story-teller stop to give account of the buying and 
selling in the market-place? 



VIRGINIA 97 

With buyers and with sellers was humming like a 

hive. 
Blithely on brass and timber the craftsman's stroke 

was ringing, 
And blithely o'er her panniers the market-girl was 

singing, so 

And blithely young Virginia came smiling from her 

home : 
Ah! woe for young Virginia, the sweetest maid in 

Rome! 
With her small tablets in her hand, and her satchel on 

her arm, 
Forth she went bounding to the school, nor dreamed 

of shame or harm. 
She crossed the Forum shining with stalls in alleys 

gay, 

And just had reached the very spot whereon I stand 

this day, 
When up the varlet Marcus came; not such as when 

erewhile 
He crouched behind his patron's heels with the true 

client smile : 
He came with lowering forehead, swollen features, 

and clenched fist, 
And strode across Virginia's path, and caught her by 

the wrist. 6o 

Hard strove the frighted maiden, and screamed with 

look aghast; 

Define: humming, blithely, panniers, stalls, erewhile, patron. 

Why does the poet repeat lines 53 and 54 (see lines 31 and 32)? 
How does this sight of the girl make her more or less something to 
appeal to our sympathies? 

Was a Roman client a manly sort of creature or otherwise? 
Why? Is the way of Marcus when with Claudius in agreement with 
his way now when he comes to Virginia? 



98 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And at her scream from right and left the folk came 

running fast; 
The money-changer Crispus, with his thin silver hairs, 
And Hanno from the stately booth glittering with 

Punic wares, 
And the strong smith Muraena, grasping a half-forged 

brand, 
And Volero the flesher, his cleaver in his hand. 
All came in wrath and wonder ; for all knew that fair 

child ; 
And, as she passed them twice a day, all kissed their 

hands and smiled; 
And the strong smith Muraena gave Marcus such a 

blow, 
The caitiff reeled three paces back, and let the maiden 

go. 70 

Yet glared he fiercely round him, and growled in 

harsh, fell tone. 
"She's mine, and I will have her: I seek but for mine 

own: 
She is my slave, born in my house, and stolen away 

and sold, 
The year of the sore sickness, ere she was twelve 

hours old. 

64 Punic wares were wares from Carthage. 



Define: money-changer, booth, brand, flesher, cleaver, caitiff, reeled, 
fell. 

Do the men who are told of from line 63 on have any interest 
in Virginia beyond their feeling for her helplessness? Is she one of 
their class or not? Is Marcus one of their class, or Claudius? 

Is there any element of improbability in the story Marcus tells? 

Does he give any proof that she is the stolen slave? 

Does he or does he not talk like a man who is telling the truth? 



VIRGINIA 99 

'T was in the sad September, the month of wail and 

fright, 
Two augurs were borne forth that morn; the Consul 

died ere night. 
I wait on Appius Claudius, I waited on his sire ; 
Let him who works the client wrong beware the 

patron's ire!" 

So spake the varlet Marcus ; and dread and silence 

came 
On all the people at the sound of the great Claudian 

name. 8o 

For then there was no Tribune to speak the word of 

might, 
Which makes the rich man tremble, and guards the 

poor man's right. 
There was no brave Licinius, no honest Sextius then ; 
But all the city, in great fear, obeyed the wicked Ten. 
Yet ere the varlet Marcus again might seize the maid, 
Who clung tight to Mursena's skirt, and sobbed and 

shrieked for aid, 
Forth through the throng of gazers the young Icilius 

pressed, 
And stamped his foot, and rent his gown, and smote 

upon his breast, 
And sprang upon that column, by many a minstrel 

sung, 



Define: wail, ire, might, shrieked, rent, minstrel. 

Do lines 81-83 suggest that the Story-teller belongs to the people 
or to the patricians? 

Does it seem probable that Icilius was first roused to his bitter- 
ness against tyrants by this incident or was he already on fire against 
tyranny from other things? 



100 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Whereon three mouldering helmets, three rusting 
swords, are hung, 90 

And beckoned to the people, and in bold voice and 
clear 

Poured thick and fast the burning words which tyrants 
quake to hear. 

"Now, by your children's cradles, now by your 

fathers' graves, 
Be men to-day, Quirites, or be forever slaves ! 
For this did Servius give us laws? For this did 

Lucrece bleed? 
For this was the great vengeance wrought on Tar- 

quin's evil seed? 
For this did those false sons make red the axes of 

their sire? 
For this did Scaevola's right hand hiss in the Tuscan 

fire? 
Shall the vile fox-earth awe the race that stormed 

the lion's den ? 

94 Quirites were Romans, taking the name "from the curia, which 
was the basis of union of the first two tribes, the Ramnes and 
Tities. 

97 Brutus, one of the consuls chosen after the expulsion of the 

Tarquins, had his two sons beheaded for conspiring to bring 
about their return. 

98 The story of Scaevola is one of the familiar stories of Roman 

bravery. Entering the Tuscan camp with the intention of 
murdering Lars Porsena, he killed the wrong man. He was 
caught, and then thrust his hand into the fire to show that 
he was unmindful of torture. This mark of courage, empha- 
sized by the statement that he had three hundred companions 
who had pledged themselves to like service for Rome, induced 
Porsena to ask for peace. 



What does he mean by "this" in lines 95-97? 

Why should he have thought over the history of the laws that 
saved the people from tyranny? 



VIRGINIA 101 

Shall we, who could not brook one lord, crouch to 

the wicked Ten? I0 ° 

Oh for that ancient spirit which curbed the Senate's 

will ! 
Oh for the tents which in old time whitened the 

Sacred Hill ! 
In those brave days our fathers stood firmly side by 

side; 
They faced the Marcian fury ; they tamed the Fabian 

pride ; 
They drove the fiercest Quinctius an outcast forth 

from Rome; 
They sent the haughtiest Claudius with shivered fasces 

home. 
But what their care bequeathed us our madness flung 

away: 
All the ripe fruit of threescore years was blighted in 

a day. 
Exult, ye proud Patricians ! The hard- fought fight 

is o'er. 
We strove for honors — 't was in vain ; for freedom — 

't is no more. II0 

102 The Plebeians withdrew from Rome and encamped on the moun- 
tain that was thereafter called the Sacred Mountain, until 
they were granted Tribunes and the satisfaction of some other 
demands. 

104 Caius Marcius, or Coriolanus, was banished from Rome and led 

back an army of her enemies. They "tamed the Fabian pride" 
by refusing to storm the camp of the enemy. 

105 The fiercest Quinctius was Quinctius Cincinnatus. 



Define: curbed, shivered, fasces, blighted. 

Who are those who have "faced the Marcian fury" and done the 
other things the speaker names, patricians or plebeians? 

How has their "madness flung away" what had been bequeathed 
them? 



102 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

No crier to the polling summons the eager throng ; 
No Tribune breathes the word of might that guards 

the weak from wrong. 
Our very hearts, that were so high, sink down beneath 

your will. 
Riches, and lands, and power, and state — ye have- 

them : — keep them still. 
Still keep the holy fillets ; still keep the purple gown, 
The axes, and the curule chair, the car, and laurel 

crown : 
Still press us for your cohorts, and, when the fight 

is done, 
Still fill your garners from the soil which our good 

swords have won. 
Still, like a spreading ulcer, which leech-craft may 

not cure, 
Let your foul usance eat away the substance of the 

poor. I2 ° 

Still let your haggard debtors bear all their fathers 

bore; 
Still let your dens of torment be noisome as of yore; 

US The holy fillets were restricted to patrician use, since the priests 
who wore them were chosen from the patricians. The purple 
gown was theirs also, as it v/as worn only by the consuls and 
the knights on public occasions. 

116 The curule chair, the car or chariot, and the laurel wreath were 

also reserved to the patricians. 

117 A cohort was a division of the Roman army, ten of them con- 

stituting a legion. 
120 The oppression of the poor by usury was one of the great 
grievances of the plebeians. 



Define: noisome, yore, fillets, garners, ulcer, leech-craft, usance. 
What does the speaker mean in line 1 1 1 ? 
How sincerely does he mean line 114? 

What do you think of as the "dens of torment" of line 122? 
Why does he call the Roman cohorts "your cohorts", and whom 
is he addressing? 



VIRGINIA 103 

No fire when Tiber freezes; no air in dogstar heat; 
And store of rods for free-born backs, and holes for 

free-born feet. 
Heap heavier still the fetters ; bar closer still the grate ; 
Patient as sheep we yield us up unto your cruel hate. 
But, by the Shades beneath us, and by the gods above, 
Add not unto your cruel hate your yet more cruel 

love ! 
Have ye not graceful ladies, whose spotless lineage 

springs 
From Consuls, and High Pontiffs, and ancient Alban 

kings ? x 3° 

Ladies, who deign not on our paths to set their tender 

feet, 
Who from their cars look down with scorn upon the 

wondering street, 
Who in Corinthian mirrors their own proud smiles 

behold, 
And breathe of Capuan odors, and shine with Spanish 

gold? 
Then leave the poor Plebeian his single tie to life — 
The sweet, sweet love of daughter, of sister, and of 

wife, 
The gentle speech, the balm for all that his vexed soul 

endures, 
The kiss, in which he half forgets even such a yoke as 

yours. 



J 33> x 34 Corinth in Greece and Capua in Italy were famous for their 
luxury. 



Define: fetters, grate, lineage, deign, shades, wondering, tie, vexed. 
W T hat does he mean in the last half of line 125? 
Why does he not want their love added to their hate? 



104 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Still let the maiden's beauty swell the father's breast 

with pride; 
Still let the bridegroom's arms infold an unpolluted 

bride. ^° 

Spare us the inexpiable wrong, the unutterable shame, 
That turns the coward's heart to steel, the sluggard's 

blood to flame, 
Lest, when our latest hope is fled, ye taste of our 

despair, 
And learn by proof, in some wild hour, how much 

the wretched dare." 



Straightway Virginius led the maid a little space 
. aside, 

To where the reeking shambles stood, piled up with 
horn and hide, 

Close to yon low dark archway, where, in a crimson 
flood, 

Leaps down to the great sewer the gurgling stream 
of blood. 

Hard by, a flesher on a block had laid his whittle 
down ; 

Virginius caught the whittle up, and hid it in his 
gown. IS ° 

And then his eyes grew very dim, and his throat be- 
gan to swell, 

Define: inexpiable, sluggard, reeking, shambles, whittle. 
How do lines 141- 144 suggest that the speaker thinks that they 
have or have not already endured too much? 
What is the threat of line 144? 
Does Virginius seem the more angered or the more broken? 



VIRGINIA 105 

And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake, "Farewell, 

sweet child ! Farewell ! 
Oh, how I loved my darling! Though stern I some- 
times be, 
To thee, thou know'st I was not so. Who could be 

so to thee ? 
And how my darling loved me ! How glad she was 

to hear 
My footsteps on the threshold when I came back last 

year! 
And how she danced with pleasure to see my civic 

crown, 
And took my sword, and hung it up, and brought 

me forth my gown ! 
Now all those things are over, — yes, all thy pretty 

ways, 
Thy needlework, thy prattle, thy snatches of old 

lays ; l6 ° 

And none will grieve when I go forth, or smile when 

I return, 
Or watch beside the old man's bed, or weep upon his 

urn. 



157 The civic crown was a reward for bravery in battle, being given 

to a soldier for having killed an enemy who would otherwise 
have killed one of his fellow soldiers. 

158 The gown is the toga that, as a Roman citizen, he put on in 

returning to civil life. 



Define: prattle, snatches, urn. 

Why does he give Virginia up so easily and bid her farewell? 

How genuine and sincere does this talk of Virginius to his daugh- 
ter suggest that the elemental human feelings were among men of his 
sort in Rome? 

By comparison with lines 130-134 how much more or less so do 
they seem than among the patricians? 



106 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

The house that was the happiest within the Roman 

walls, 
The house that envied not the wealth of Capua's 

marble halls, 
Now, for the brightness of thy smile, must have 

eternal gloom, 
And for the music of thy voice, the silence of the 

tomb. 
The time is come. See how he points his eager hand 

this way! 
See how his eyes gloat on thy grief, like a kite's upon 

the prey! 
With all his wit, he little deems that, spurned, be- 
trayed, bereft, 
Thy father hath in his despair one fearful refuge 

left. J 7° 

He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still 

can save 
Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion 

of the slave; 
Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and 

blow, — 
Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou 

shalt never know. 
Then clasp me round the neck once more, and give 

me one more kiss ; 
And now, mine own dear little girl, there is no way 

but this." 



Define: gloat, deems, bereft, refuge, outrage. 

Who is it that gloats on Virginia's grief, as her father tells in 
line 1 68? 

Why do you suppose that Virginius did not try to save Virginia 
from Claudius alive? 



VIRGINIA 107 

With that he lifted high the steel, and smote her in 

the side, 
And in her blood she sank to earth, and with one sob 

she died. 

Then, for a little moment, all people held their 

breath ; 
And through the crowded Forum was stillness as of 

death ; l8 ° 

And in another moment brake forth from one and all 
A cry as if the Volscians were coming o'er the wall. 
Some with averted faces shrieking fled home amain; 
Some ran to call a leech; and some ran to lift the 

slain ; 
Some felt her lips and little wrist, if life might there 

be found; 
And some tore up their garments fast, and strove to 

stanch the wound. 
In vain they ran, and felt, and stanched, for never 

truer blow 
That good right arm had dealt in fight against a 

Volscian foe. 

When Appius Claudius saw that deed, he shuddered 

and sank down, 
And hid his face some little space with the corner of 

his gown, I9 ° 

Till, with white lips and bloodshot eyes, Virginius 

tottered nigh, 

Define: averted, leech, stanch, strove, dealt. 

Is it merely the death of Virginia that affects the people so 
terribly, or is it something more? Do they think of it as a part of 
their own troubles? 

Does Claudius have a feeling of fear at the sight of the killing 
of Virginia, or is it merely the horror of the sight that affects him? 



108 LAYS OF ANCIENT RGME 

And stood before the judgment-seat, and held the 

knife on high. 
"O dwellers in the nether gloom, avengers of the 

slain, 
By this dear blood I cry to you, do right between us 

twain ; 
And even as Appius Claudius hath dealt by me and 

mine, 
Deal you by Appius Claudius and all the Claudian 

liner 
So spake the slayer of his child, and turned, and went 

his way; 
But first he cast one haggard glance to where the body 

lay, 
And writhed, and groaned a fearful groan, and then, 

with steadfast feet, 
Strode right across the market-place unto the Sacred 

Street. m 200 

Then up sprang Appius Claudius : "Stop him, alive 

or dead ! 
Ten thousand pounds of copper to the man who 

brings his head !" 
He looked upon his clients ; but none would work his 

will. 



Define: nether, avengers, steadfast, press, twain, haggard. 

Are the "dwellers in the nether gloom" of line 193 probably 
men or gods? 

Can you see why Virginius leaves the body of his child for others 
to care for? Does that seem natural or not? 

Why are both clients and lictors unwilling to do the bidding of 
Claudius? 

Is the spirit of Claudius in offering ten thousand pounds of copper 
for his head vindictive and tyrannical or that of a man simply trying 
to secure the punishment of a murderer? 



VIRGINIA 109 

He looked upon his lictors ; but they trembled and 

stood still. 
And, as Virginius through the press his way in silence 

cleft, 
Ever the mighty multitude fell back to right and left. 
And he hath passed in safety unto his woful home, 
And there ta'en horse to tell the camp what deeds are 

done in Rome. 

By this the flood of people was swollen from every 

side, 
And streets and porches round were filled with that 

o'erflowing tide; 2I0 

And close around the body gathered a little train 
Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the 

slain. 
They brought a bier, and hung it with many a cypress 

crown, 
And gently they uplifted her, and gently laid her 

down. 
The face of Appius Claudius wore the Claudian scowl 

and sneer, 
And in the Claudian note he cried, "What doth this 

rabble here? 
Have they no crafts to mind at home, that hitherward 

they stray? 
Ho! lictors, clear the market-place, and fetch the 

corpse away!" 
The voice of grief and fury till then had not been 

loud; 

Define: woful, bier, rabble, crafts, fetch. 

Is the attitude of the people in any way defiant of Claudius? 
What in the speaker's mind as you suppose, characterized the 
"Claudian note"? 



110 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

But a deep sullen murmur wandered among the 

crowd, 220 

Like the moaning noise that goes before the whirl- 
wind on the deep, 
Or the growl of a fierce watch-dog but half aroused 

from sleep. 
But when the lictors at that word, tall yeomen all and 

strong, 
Each with his axe and sheaf of twigs, went down into 

the throng, 
Those old men say, who saw that day of sorrow and 

of sin, 
That in the Roman Forum was never such a din. 
The wailing, hooting, cursing, the howls of grief and 

hate, 
Were heard beyond the Pincian Hill, beyond the Latin 

Gate. 
But close around the body, where stood the little train 
Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the 

slain, 2 *° 

No cries were there, but teeth set fast, low whispers 

and black frowns, 
And breaking up of benches, and girding up of gowns ; 
'T was well the lictors might not pierce to where the 

maiden lay, 
Else surely had they been all twelve torn limb from 

limb that day. 
Right glad they were to struggle back, blood streaming 

from their heads, 



Define: sullen, moaning, yeomen, sheaf, train, pierce. 
What now in line 220 et seq. increases the anger of the crowd? 
Why should the story-teller call the fasces of the lictors twigs in 
line 224? 



VIRGINIA 111 

With axes all in splinters, and raiment all in shreds. 
Then Appius Claudius gnawed his lip and the blood 

left his cheek; 
And thrice he beckoned with his hand, and thrice he 

strove to speak; 
And thrice the tossing Forum set up a frightful yell : 
"See, see, thou dog! what thou hast done; and hide 

thy shame in hell ! 24 ° 

Thou that wouldst make our maidens slaves must 

first make slaves of men. 
Tribunes ! Hurrah for Tribunes ! Down with the 

wicked Ten!" 
And straightway, thick as hailstones, came whizzing 

through the air 
Pebbles, and bricks, and potsherds, all round the curule 

chair ; 
And upon Appius Claudius great fear and trembling 

came ; 
For never was a Claudius yet brave against aught but 

shame. 
Though the great houses love us not, we own, to do 

them right, 
That the great houses, all save one, have borne them 

well in fight. 
Still Caius of Corioli, his triumphs and his wrongs, 
His vengeance and his mercy, live in our camp-fire 

songs. 2 s° 



Define: tossing, potsherds, curule. 

Does the bearing of Claudius as the speaker reports it show fear 
or vexation or anger and will to do something? 

Why do the people wish Tribunes? 

How does this story show that the house of Claudius was brave 
against shame? 



112 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Beneath the yoke of Furius oft have Gaul and Tuscan 

bowed ; 
And Rome may bear the pride of him of whom her- 
self is proud. 
But evermore a Claudius shrinks from a stricken field, 
And changes color like a maid at sight of sword and 

shield. 
The Claudian triumphs all were won within the city 

towers ; 
The Claudian yoke was never pressed on any necks 

but ours. 
A Cossus, like a wild-cat, springs ever at the face; 
A Fabius rushes like a boar against the shouting 

chase ; 
But the vile Claudian litter, raging with currish spite, 
Still yelps and snaps at those who run, still runs from 

those who smite. 26 ° 

So now 't was seen of Appius. When stones began 

to fly, 
He shook, and crouched, and wrung his hands, and 

smote upon his thigh. 
"Kind clients, honest lictors, stand by me in this fray ! 
Must I be torn in pieces ? Home, home, the nearest 

way !" 

251 Marcus Furius Camillus. After the sack of Rome by the Gauls, 

he prevented a migration of the citizens to Veii. Later he 
defeated the Gauls at Alba. 

257 Aulus Cornelius Cossus defeated Tolumnus, king of the Veiientes. 

258 There were many of the Fabian gens who were prominent in the 

early history of Rome. 



What kind of triumphs were those that Claudius won within the 
city towers? 

How has the bearing of Claudius so far justified the story-teller's 
speaking of his house as "the vile Claudian litter"? 



VIRGINIA 113 

While yet he spake, and looked around with a be- 
wildered stare, 
Four sturdy lictors put their necks beneath the curule 

chair ; 
And fourscore clients on the left, and fourscore on 

the right, 
Arrayed themselves with swords and staves, and loins 

girt up for fight. 
But, though without or staff or sword, so furious was 

the throng, 
That scarce the train with might and main could bring 

their lord along. 27 ° 

Twelve times the crowd made at him ; five times they 

seized his gown; 
Small chance was his to rise again, if once they got 

him down. 
And sharper came the pelting; and evermore the 

yell— 
"Tribunes ! we will have Tribunes !" rose with a louder 

swell. 
And the chair tossed as tosses a bark with tattered 

sail 
When raves the Adriatic beneath an eastern gale, 
When the Calabrian sea-marks are lost in clouds of 

spume, 
And the great Thunder Cape has donned his veil of 

inky gloom. 
One stone hit Appius in the mouth, and one beneath 

the ear ; 

Who were without either staff or sword in line 269? 

Why does the poet speak of the lictors and clients as "the 
train"? Does it have any relation to the servility of their offices? 

Do the figures of lines 275-278 suggest violence or numbers in the 
crowd, or both? 



114 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And ere he reached Mount Palatine, he swooned with 
pain and fear. 28 ° 

His cursed head, that he was wont to hold so high 
with pride, 

Now, like a drunken man's, hung down, and swayed 
from side to side; 

And when his stout retainers had brought him to his 
door, 

His face and neck were all one cake of filth and 
clotted gore. 

As Appius Claudius was that day, so may his gra id- 
son be! 

God send Rome one such other sight, and send me 
there to see ! 

Does the story-teller as he ends reveal his character any further 
as belonging to the popular party or to the patricians? 

How does the pitiful story have a note of something like joy at 
the end? 

What does the one who tells the story most think of, Virginia 
or the wrongs that the people suffer? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 

It can hardly be necessary to remind any reader 
that, according to the popular tradition, Romulus, 
after he had slain his grand-uncle, Amulius, and re- 
stored his grandfather Numitor, determined to quit 
Alba, the hereditary domain of the Sylvian princes, 
and to found a new city. The gods, it was added, 
vouchsafed the clearest signs of the favor with which 
they regarded the enterprise, and of the high destinies 
reserved for the young colony. 

This event was likely to be a favorite theme of the 
old Latin minstrels. They would naturally attribute 
the project of Romulus to some divine intimation of 
the power and prosperity which it was decreed that his 
city should attain. They w r ould probably introduce 
seers foretelling the victories of unborn consuls and 
dictators, and the last great victory would generally 
occupy the most conspicuous place in the prediction. 
There is nothing strange in the supposition that the 
poet who was employed to celebrate the first great 
triumph of the Romans over the Greeks might throw 
his song of exultation into this form. 

The occasion was one likely to excite the strongest 
feelings of national pride. A great outrage had been 
followed by a great retribution. Seven years before 
this time, Lucius Posthumius Megellus, who sprang 
from one of the noblest houses of Rome, and had been 
thrice Consul, was sent ambassador to Tarentum, with 
charge to demand reparation for grievous injuries. 

115 



116 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

The Tarentines gave him audience in their theatre, 
where he addressed them in such Greek as he could 
command, which, we may well believe, was not exactly 
such as Cineas would have spoken. An exquisite 
sense of the ridiculous belonged to the Greek char- 
acter; and closely connected with this faculty was a 
strong propensity to flippancy and impertinence. 
When Posthumius placed an accent wrong, his bearers 
burst into a laugh. When he remonstrated, they 
hooted him, and called him a barbarian ; and at length 
hissed him off the stage as if he had been a bad actor. 
As the grave Roman retired, a buffoon, who, from 
his constant drunkenness, was nicknamed the Pint 
Pot, came up with gestures of the grossest indecency, 
and bespattered the senatorial gown with filth. 
Posthumius turned round to the multitude, and held 
up the gown, as if appealing to the universal law of 
nations. The sight only increased the insolence of 
the Tarentines. They clapped their hands, and set 
up a shout of laughter which shook the theatre. "Men 
of Tarentum," said Posthumius, "It will take not a 
little blood to wash this gown." 

Rome, in consequence of this insult, declared war 
against the Tarentines. The Tarentines sought for 
allies beyond the Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 
came to their help with a large army; and, for the 
first time, the two great nations of antiquity were 
fairly matched against each other. 

The fame of Greece in arms, as well as in arts, was 
then at the height. Half a century earlier, the career 
of Alexander had excited the admiration and terror 
of all nations from the Ganges to the Pillars of Her- 
cules. Royal houses, founded by Macedonian cap- 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 117 

tains, still reigned at Antioch and Alexandria. That 
barbarian warriors, led by barbarian chiefs, should 
win a pitched battle against Greek valor guided by 
Greek science, seemed as incredible as it would now 
seem that the Burmese or the Siamese should, in the 
open plain, put to flight an equal number of the best 
English troops. The Tarentines were convinced that 
their countrymen were irresistible in war; and this 
conviction had emboldened them to treat with the 
grossest indignity one whom they regarded as the 
representative of an inferior race. Of the Greek 
generals then living, Pyrrhus was indisputably the 
first. Among the troops who were trained in the Greek 
discipline, his Epirotes ranked high. His expedition 
to Italy was a turning-point in the history of the 
world. He found there a people who, far inferior to 
the Athenians and Corinthians in the fine arts, in the 
speculative sciences, and in all the refinements of life, 
were the best soldiers on the face of the earth. Their 
arms, their gradations of rank, their order of battle, 
their methods of intrenchment, were all of Latian 
origin, and had all been gradually brought near to 
perfection, not by the study of foreign models, but by 
the genius and experience of many generations of 
great native commanders. The first words which 
broke from the king, when his practised eye had sur- 
veyed the Roman encampment, were full of meaning: 
"These barbarians," he said, "have nothing barbarous 
in their military arrangements. " He was at first vic- 
torious ; for his own talents were superior to those of 
the captains who were opposed to him; and the Ro- 
mans were not prepared for the onset of the elephants 
of the East, which were then for the first time seen 



118 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

in Italy, — moving mountains, with long snakes for 
hands. But the victories of the Epirotes were fiercely 
disputed, dearly purchased, and altogether unprofitable. 
At length, Manius Curius Dentatus, who had in his 
first consulship won two triumphs, was again placed 
at the head of the Roman Commonwealth, and sent to 
encounter the invaders. A great battle was fought 
near Beneventum. Pyrrhus was completely defeated. 
He repassed the sea; and the world learned with 
amazement that a people had been discovered who, in 
fair fighting, were superior to the best troops that had 
been drilled on the system of Parmenio and Antigonus. 

The conquerors had a good right to exult in their 
success, for their glory was all their own. They had 
not learned from their enemy how to conquer him. 
It was with their own national arms, and in their own 
national battle array, that they had overcome weapons 
and tactics long believed to be invincible. The pilum 
and the broadsword had vanquished the Macedonian 
spear. The legion had broken the Macedonian 
phalanx. Even the elephants, where the surprise pro- 
duced by their first appearance was over, could cause 
no disorder in the steady yet flexible battalions of 
Rome. 

It is said by Florus, and may easily be believed, that 
the triumph far surpassed in magnificence any that 
Rome had previously seen. The only spoils which 
Papirius Cursor and Fabius Maximus could exhibit 
were flocks and herds, wagons of rude structure, and 
heaps of spears and helmets. But now, for the first 
time, the riches of Asia and the arts of Greece adorned 
a Roman pageant. Plate, fine stuffs, costly furniture, 
rare animals, exquisite paintings and sculptures, 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 119 

formed part of the procession. At the banquet would 
be assembled a crowd of warriors and statesmen, 
among whom Manius Curius Dentatus would take the 
highest room. Caius Fabricius Luscinus, then, after 
two consulships and two triumphs, Censor of the 
Commonwealth, would doubtless occupy a place of 
honor at the board. In situations less conspicuous 
probably lay some of those who were, a few years 
later, the terror of Carthage — Caius Duilius, the 
founder of the maritime greatness of his country; 
Marcus Atilius Regulus, who owed to defeat a re- 
nown far higher than that which he had derived from 
his victories; and Caius Lutatius Catulus, who, while 
suffering from a grievous wound, fought the great 
battle of the iEgates, and brought the First Punic 
War to a triumphant close. It is impossible to re- 
count the names of these eminent citizens, without 
reflecting that they were all, without exception, 
Plebeians, and would, but for the ever-memorable 
struggle maintained by Caius Licinius and Lucius 
Sextius, have been doomed to hide in obscurity, or to 
waste in civil broils, the capacity and energy which 
prevailed against Pyrrhus and Hamilcar. 

On such a day we may suppose that the patriotic 
enthusiasm of a Latin poet would vent itself in re- 
iterated shouts of "Io Triumphe/' such as were uttered 
by Horace on a far less exciting occasion, and in 
boasts resembling those which Virgil, two hundred 
and fifty years later, put into the mouth of Anchises. 
The superiority of some foreign nations, and especially 
of the Greeks, in the lazy arts of peace, would be ad- 
mitted with disdainful candor ; but preeminence in all 



120 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

the qualities which fit a people to subdue and govern 
mankind would be claimed for the Romans. 

The following lay belongs to the latest age of Latin 
ballad-poetry. Nsevius and Livius Andronicus were 
probably among the children whose mothers held them 
up to see the chariot of Curius go by. The minstrel 
who sang on that day might possibly have lived to read 
the first hexameters of Ennius, and to see the first 
comedies of Plautus. His poem, as might be expected, 
shows a much wider acquaintance with the geography, 
manners, and productions of remote nations than 
would have been found in compositions of the age of 
Camillus. But he troubles himself little about dates; 
and having heard travellers talk with admiration of 
the Colossus of Rhodes, and of the structures and 
gardens with which the Macedonian kings of Syria 
had embellished their residence on the banks of the 
Orontes, he has never thought of inquiring whether 
these things existed in the age of Romulus. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 121 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 

A Lay Sung at the Banquet in the Capitol, on the Day 
Whereon Manius Curius Dentatus, a Second Time 
Consul, Triumphed Over King Pyrrhus and the 
Tarentines, in the Year of the City CCCCLXXIX. 



Now slain is King Amulius, 

Of the great Sylvian line, 
Who reigned in Alba Longa, 

On the throne of Aventine. 
Slain is the Pontiff Camers, 

Who spake the words of doom 
'The children to the Tiber; 

The mother to the tomb/' 



In Alba's lake no fisher 

His net to-day is flinging; I0 

On the dark rind of Alba's oaks 

To-day no axe is ringing; 
The yoke hangs o'er the manger ; 

The scythe lies in the hay; 
Through all the Alban villages 

No work is done to-day. 

6 The words of doom were those addressed to Rhea Sylvia, the 
daughter of Numitor. Romulus and Remus were her twin 
children, and they were included in the doom. 
Why is it that "no work is done to-day"? 



122 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

3 

And every Alban burgher 

Hath donned his whitest gown; 
And every head in Alba 

Weareth a poplar crown; 20 

And every Alban doorpost 

With boughs and flowers is gay ; 
For to-day the dead are living; 

The lost are found to-day. 



They were doomed by a bloody king ; 

They were doomed by a lying priest ; 
They were cast on the raging flood; 

They were tracked by the raging beast. 
Raging beast and raging flood 

Alike have spared the prey ; 3<> 

And to-day the dead are living; 

The lost are found to-day. 



The troubled river knew them, 

And smoothed his yellow foam, 
And gently rocked the cradle 

That bore the fate of Rome. 
The ravening she- wolf knew them, * 

And licked them o'er and o'er, 
And gave them of her own fierce milk, 

Define: raging, prey, ravening, fierce. 

What is the story-teller's reason for saying that "to-day the dead 
are living"? Who that were dead does he mean? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 123 

Rich with raw flesh and gore. -* 

Twenty winters, twenty springs, 

Since then have rolled away; 
And to-day the dead are living, 

The lost are found to-day. 



Blithe it was to see the twins, 

Right goodly youths and tall, 
Marching from Alba Longa 

To their old grandsire's hall. 
Along their path fresh garlands 

Are hung from tree to tree ; 5° 

Before them stride the pipers, 

Piping a note of glee. 



On the right goes Romulus, 

With arms to the elbows red, 
And in his hand a broadsword, 

And on the blade a head, — 
A head in an iron helmet, 

With horse-hair hanging down, 
A shaggy head, a swarthy head, 

Fixed in a ghastly frown, — 6o 

The head of King Amulius 

Of the great Sylvian line, 

Define: gore, goodly, shaggy, swarthy. 

Is this story told now in song at the date indicated by lines, 41, 42, 
or later as telling about that time? 

Who was the old grandsire of line 48? 

Where was the hall to whom the twins marched from Alba Longa? 

What do the details of lines 54-59 suggest as to the condition of 
civilization in Rome at this time? 



124 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Who reigned in Alba Longa, 
On the throne of Aventine. 



8 

On the left side goes Remus, 

With wrists and fingers red, 
And in his hand a boar-spear, 

And on the point a head, — 
A wrinkled head and aged, 

With silver beard and hair, ?° 

And holy fillets round it, 

Such as the pontiffs wear, — 
The head of ancient Camers, 

Who spake the words of doom: 
'The children to the Tiber ; 

The mother to the tomb." 



Two and two behind the twins 

Their trusty comrades go, 
Four-and- forty valiant men, 

With club, and axe, and bow. 8o 

On each side every hamlet 

Pours forth its joyous crowd, 
Shouting lads and baying dogs 

And children laughing loud, 
And old men weeping fondly 

As Rhea's boys go by, 

Why do you suppose the people rejoiced at the sight of the tri- 
umphant procession? 

Why are Romulus and Remus called Rhea's boys? Does it 
heighten or lessen human interest in them? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 125 

And maids who shriek to see the heads, 
Yet, shrieking, press more nigh. 

10 

So they marched along the lake; 

They marched by fold and stall, 90 

By cornfield and by vineyard, 

Unto the old man's hall. 

11 

In the hall-gate sate Capys, 

Capys, the sightless seer; 
From head to foot he trembled 

As Romulus drew near. 
And up stood stiff his thin white hair, 

And his blind eyes flashed fire: 
"Hail ! foster-child of the wondrous nurse ! 

Hail! son of the wondrous sire! I0 ° 

12 

"But thou, — what dost thou here 

In the old man's peaceful hall? 
What doth the eagle in the coop, 

The bison in the stall? 
Our corn fills many a garner; 

Our vines clasp many a tree ; 
Our flocks are white on many a hill ; 

But these are not for thee. 

100 The wondrous sire was believed to be the god Mars. 



Define: fold, seer, foster-child, bison, garner. 

Why does the seer say that the flocks are not for the two? 

What is the meaning of the figures in lines 103, 104? 



126 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 



13 



"For thee no treasure ripens 

In the Tartessian mine: no 

For thee no ship brings precious bales 

Across the Libyan brine ; 
Thou shalt not drink from amber ; 

Thou shalt not rest on down ; 
Arabia shall not steep thy locks, 

Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. 

14 

"Leave gold and myrrh and jewels, 

Rich table and soft bed, 
To them who of man's seed are born, 

Whom woman's milk have fed. I20 

Thou wast not made for lucre, 

For pleasure, nor for rest ; 
Thou, that are sprung from the War-god's loins 

And hast tugged at the she- wolf's breast. 

IS 

"From sunrise unto sunset 
All earth shall hear thy fame; 

no The Tartessian mine. The biblical Tarshish. 
112 The Libyan brine is the Mediterranean. 



Define: bales, down, steep, myrrh, lucre. 

With what did Sidon tinge gowns? 

Do you think that at the time at which this song was supposed 
to be sung the Romans were likely to be ready believers in the super- 
natural? 

What recent circumstances had heightened the Roman feeling for 
their warlike greatness? Would that have any effect upon their be- 
lief in the descent of Romulus from Mars? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 127 

A glorious city thou shalt build, 

And name it by thy name. 
And there, unquenched through ages, 

Like Vesta's sacred fire, J 3° 

Shall live the spirit of thy nurse, 

The spirit of thy sire. 



16 



"The ox toils through the furrow, 

Obedient to the goad ; 
The patient ass, up flinty paths, 

Plods with his weary load; 
With whine and bound the spaniel 

His master's whistle hears ; 
And the sheep yields her patiently 

To the loud clashing shears. J 4° 



17 



"But thy nurse will hear no master ; 

Thy nurse will bear no load; 
And woe to them that shear her, 

And woe to them that goad! 
When all the pack, loud baying, 

Her bloody lair surrounds, 
She dies in silence, biting hard, 

Amidst the dying hounds. 



Define: unquenched, spirit, sire, goad, bound, lair. 
Who or what was the nurse of stanza 17? 



128 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

18 

"Pomona loves the orchard; 

And Liber loves the vine; I5 ° 

And Pales loves the straw-built shed 

Warm with the breath of kine ; 
And Venus loves the whispers 

Of plighted youth and maid, 
In April's ivory moonlight 

Beneath the chestnut shade. 

19 

"But thy father loves the clashing 

Of broadsword and of shield; 
He loves to drink the steam that reeks 

From the fresh battle-field l6 ° 

He smiles a smile more dreadful 

Than his own dreadful frown, 
When he sees the thick black cloud of smoke 

Go up from the conquered town. 

20 

"And such as is the War-god, 

The author of thy line, 
And such as she who suckled thee, 

Even such be thou and thine. 

149-15 1 Pomona, Liber, and Pales were deities of the Roman 
mythology. 



Were the deities of stanza 18 as important or as expressive of the 
Roman character as Mars? 

Is there contempt for the Campanian, the Tyrran, the Cartha- 
genian, the Greek in stanza 20 or is the speaker merely making dis- 
tinctions? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 129 

Leave to the soft Campanian 

His baths and his perfumes; x 7° 

Leave to the sordid race of Tyre 

Their dyeing-vats and looms : 
Leave to the sons of Carthage 

The rudder and the oar : 
Leave to the Greek his marble Nymphs 

And scrolls of wordy lore. 

21 

"Thine, Roman, is the pilum; 

Roman, the sword is thine, 
The even trench, the bristling mound, 

The legion's ordered line; l8 ° 

And thine the wheels of triumph, 

Which with their laurelled train 
Move slowly up the shouting streets 

To Jove's eternal fane. 

22 

"Beneath thy yoke the Volscian 

Shall veil his lofty brow; 
Soft Capua's curled revellers 

Before thy chairs shall bow; 
The Lucumoes of Arnus 

Shall quake thy rods to see ; I9 ° 

169 Campania was a region in Italy below Latium. 
177 The pilum was a long spear. 



Define: sordid, scrolls, lore, trench, laurelled, revellers. 
What are the "wheels of triumph" of line 181? and the "laurelled 
train" of the next line? 

What does the seer mean by "thy rods" in line 190? 



130 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

And the proud Samnite's heart of steel 
Shall yield to only thee. 

23 

"The Gaul shall come against thee 

From the land of snow and night ; 
Thou shalt give his fair-haired armies 

To the raven and the kite. 

24 

"The Greek shall come against thee, 

The conqueror of the East, 
Beside him stalks to battle 

The huge earth-shaking beast, 200 

The beast on whom the castle 

With all its guards doth stand, 
The beast who hath between his eyes 

The serpent for a hand. 
First march the bold Epirotes, 

Wedged close with shield and spear ; 
And the ranks of false Tarentum 

Are glittering in the rear. 

25 

"The ranks of false Tarentum 
Like hunted sheep shall fly; 21 ° 

i93» W> 20 ° These predictions concern first the coming of the Gauls 
under Brennus. See "Virginius", line 251. The other refer- 
ence is to the coming of the Greek invader Pyrrhus, king of 
Epeiros, with his elephants. 



See the introduction to the poem as above and say what battle 
formation of the army of Pyrrhus is referred to in line 206. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 131 

In vain the bold Epirotes 

Shall round their standards die. 
And Apennines gray vultures 

Shall have a noble feast 
On the fat and the eyes 

Of the huge earth-shaking beast. 

26 

"Hurrah! for the good weapons 

That keep the War-god's land. 
Hurrah! for Rome's stout pilum 

In a stout Roman hand. 220 

Hurrah ! for Rome's short broadsword, 

That through the thick array 
Of levelled spears and serried shields 

Hews deep its gory way. 

27 

"Hurrah ! for the great triumph 

That stretches many a mile. 
Hurrah! for the wan captives 

That pass in endless file. 
Ho! bold Epirotes, whither 

Hath the Red King ta'en flight? 2 *° 

230 The Red King was Pyrrhus, so called because the name means 
red. 



Define: serried, hews, noble, stout, array, wan, file. 

Under whom had the Greeks conquered the East? See Macau- 
lay's Introduction to the poem. 

What was the nature of a Roman triumph, as you may gather 
from line 225? 

Why is the question of lines 229, 230 addressed to the Epirotes? 



132 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Ho ! dogs of false Tarentum, 
Is not the gown washed white? 

28 

"Hurrah; for the great triumph 

That stretches many a mile. 
Hurrah! for the rich dye of Tyre, 

And the fine web of Nile, 
The helmets gay with plumage 

Torn from the pheasant's wings, 
The belts set thick with starry gems 

That shone on Indian kings, 2 *° 

The urns of massy silver, 

The goblets rough with gold, 
The many-colored tablets bright 

With loves and wars of old, 
The stone that breathes and struggles, 

The brass that seems to speak, — 
Such cunning they who dwell on high 

Have given unto the Greek. 

29 

"Hurrah! for Manius Curius, 

The bravest son of Rome, *s° 

Thrice in utmost need sent forth, 

Thrice drawn in triumph home. 

To what is reference of line 232? 

Why does the seer shout for the things of stanza 28? Is it in 
the spirit of lines 217, 218 or not? 

What one of the arts is suggested in lines 245, 246? Was that 
an art in which the Greeks were particularly proficient? 

How in these stanzas toward the close does the story seem less 
a prophecy and more a recounting of things as they are? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS 133 

Weave, weave for Manius Curius 

The third embroidered gown : 
Make ready the third lofty car, 

And twine the third green crown; 
And yoke the steeds of Rosea 

With necks like a blended bow, 
And deck the bull, Mevania's bull, 

The bull as white as snow. a6 ° 



30 

"Blest and thrice blest the Roman 

Who sees Rome's brightest day, 
Who sees that long victorious pomp 

Wind down the Sacred Way, 
And through the bellowing Forum 

And round the Suppliant's Grove, 
Up to the everlasting gates 

Of Capitolian Jove. 



3i 

"Then where, o'er two bright havens, 

The towers of Corinth frown; 2 ?° 

Where the gigantic King of Day 

On his own Rhodes looks down; 
Where soft Orontes murmurs 

Beneath the laurel shades ; 

272 The Colossus of Rhodes, an enormous statue in the harbor of 

Rhodes, called the King of Day because it was erected to 
the sun god. 

273 Soft Orontes murmurs by the city of Antioch. 

What had Manius Curius done that he should have woven for him 
the third embroidered gown? 



134 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Where Nile reflects the endless length 

Of dark-red colonnades; 
Where in the still deep water, 

Sheltered from waves and blasts, 
Bristles the dusky forests 

Of Byrsa's thousand masts; * 8 ° 

Where fur-clad hunters wander 

Amidst the northern ice; 
Where through the sand of morning-land 

The camel bears the spice; 
Where Atlas flings his shadow 

Far o'er the western foam, — 
Shall be great fear on all who hear 

The mighty name of Rome. ,, 

275 The city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile is the probable 

reference. 
280 Byrsa, the citadel of Carthage. 
285 The Atlas mountains in northwestern Africa. 



What are colonnades? 

How is this poem more interesting or less interesting than 
"Horatius"? 

How extensive was finally the Roman empire? Does the poem 
indicate that at all? 



CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE OF MACAU- 
LAY'S LIFE 

Thomas Babington Macaulay was born in 1800, 
October 25, at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire. His 
father Zachary Macaulay, was a man of high princi- 
ples and stern convictions. He did a large business as 
an African merchant and was an earnest and active 
enemy of the slave trade, having become acquainted 
with some of its cruelties through a brief residence 
in Jamaica. 

It is a characteristic story told of the lad in his 
fourth year that, having some hot coffee spilled on 
his legs once when he was visiting, he replied a little 
later to the sympathetic inquiries of his hostess: 
"Thank you, madam, the agony is somewhat abated. " 

At seven the precocious boy compiled a compendium 
of universal history. 

In 1814 he was sent to a private boarding school. 

In 18 18 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, 
being graduated in 1822 as B. A. and in 1824 as M. A. 
At this time he was elected to a fellowship in the col- 
lege that paid him three hundred pounds a year. 

In 1825 he published his first contribution to the 
Edinburgh Review, the essay on Milton, and so estab- 
lished a contributing relationship with the magazine 
that was to endure nearly twenty years. 

In 1826 he was called to the bar, and in 1828 be- 
came Commissioner of Bankruptcy. Later in Parlia- 
ment he had the courage and the disinterestedness to 
vote for a bill abolishing this office and so depriving 
him of a considerable income. 

In 1830 he became a member of Parliament from 
Calne, and delivered his first speech in Parliament. 
The next year he made notable speeches in support of 
the Reform Bill, and published his essay on Boswell's 

135 



OCT 3vi 19H 

1S6 MACAULAY 

Life of Johnson. In 1833 he was returned to Parlia- 
ment from Leeds. This year, also, he published the 
essay on Horace Walpole, and the next year one on 
William Pitt. 

In 1834 he sailed for India as legal adviser to the 
Supreme Council. His great work in India was the 
drawing up of a Penal Code and Code of Criminal 
Procedure for India, and this was finished in 1837. 
The ne^ct year his father died, and he returned to 
England. 

In 1839 he was again elected to Parliament, this 
time from Edinburgh, and he was a member of Par- 
liament, although not continuously, for a number of 
years, resigning finally in 1856. In 1840 he published 
the essay on Lord Clive, that on Warren Hastings in 
1 84 1, on Madame d' Arblay and on the Life and Writ- 
ings of Addison in 1843, an d that on the Earl of Chat- 
ham, his last contribution to the Edinburgh Review, 
in 1844. 

In 1842 he published the Lays of Ancient Rome. 

In 1848 the first two volumes of his history of Eng- 
land appeared, the third and fourth coming out in 
1855, an d the fifth after his death. In 1854 he pub- 
lished a Life of John Bunyan, and lives of Samuel 
Johnson and of Oliver Goldsmith appeared in 1856. 

In 1857 he was created Baron Macaulay of Rothley. 

In 1859 he published a Life of William Pitt, and on 
December 28 of that year he died. 

One or two things are remarkable in Macaulay. 
He had a very clear and fluent style both as a speaker 
and a writer. His memory was one of the most as- 
tonishing the world has ever known. He was thor- 
oughly lovable in the personal relations of life, and 
he was very high-minded and honest in all his public 
actions. 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



OCT SO I9FI 



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Outlines of English History 

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Story of the Britons 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

A New, Revised and Enlar 

Winchell's prthograph^ j|^4mW| * 
and Punctuation 





UNDER ORTHOEPY IS TREATED -Diacritical Marks, 
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